Liability under Anti-Doping Law in Public Law Domain

In Poland, the Act of April 21, 2017 on Combating Doping in Sport is in force. The new law raises new questions. One of the questions is whether, the combating doping in sport belongs to private law or public law. The dualistic division of law itself is problematic. The legal regulation of doping has undergone a process similar to criminal law, i.e. from private law to public law. A breakthrough in combating doping was the establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999.The new Polish act followed this path. The Act on Combating Doping in Sport provided the legal basis for the existence of the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA), as a state legal entity. POLADA is therefore a body governed by public law, which establishes anti-doping rules, controls and oversees compliance, authorises the use of prohibited substances or methods, and conducts disciplinary action for violation of anti-doping rules.

Audiometry and doping control in competitive deaf sport

In the past forty years both the participating countries and the participants at the Summer Deaflympics Games have increased by 2.5-fold. Furthermore, there are approximately fifty European or World sports events organized for the hearing impaired. The aim of the paper was to discuss the procedures and requirements related to doping control in deaf people’s competitive sport in the context of the rising number of sports events and the participating athletes.For the sake of the fair play spirit of the dynamically developing deaf sports, The International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD) introduced rules governing the participation of hard-of-hearing athletes in sports events. Healthy individuals with a hearing loss of at least 55 dB are allowed. Thus, audiometric examination constitutes the first doping control criterion. Since 2004, ICSD has been cooperating with the World Anti-Doping Agency. The second criterion is, therefore, blood and urine sample control for prohibited substances. The 23rd Summer Deaflympics in 2017 involved 2858 athletes. Overall, 842 (29.5%) participants were randomly subjected to an audiological test; 9 competitors from different countries were disqualified because of non-compliance with the ICSD standards. A total of 300 randomly selected athletes underwent doping control for prohibited substances; 1 was disqualified. The world literature lacks scientific reports on deaf sports, including doping control.

Androstenedione (a Natural Steroid and a Drug Supplement): A Comprehensive Review of Its Consumption, Metabolism, Health Effects, and Toxicity with Sex Differences

Androstenedione is a steroidal hormone produced in male and female gonads, as well as in the adrenal glands, and it is known for its key role in the production of estrogen and testosterone. Androstenedione is also sold as an oral supplement, that is being utilized to increase testosterone levels. Simply known as “andro” by athletes, it is commonly touted as a natural alternative to anabolic steroids. By boosting testosterone levels, it is thought to be an enhancer for athletic performance, build body muscles, reduce fats, increase energy, maintain healthy RBCs, and increase sexual performance. Nevertheless, several of these effects are not yet scientifically proven. Though commonly used as a supplement for body building, it is listed among performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) which is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, as well as the International Olympic Committee. This review focuses on the action mechanism behind androstenedione’s health effects, and further side effects including clinical features, populations at risk, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and toxicokinetics. A review of androstenedione regulation in drug doping is also presented.

Olympic anti-doping laboratory: the analytical technological road from 2016 Rio De Janeiro to 2021 Tokyo

The summer Olympic Games is the major mega sports event since the first modern era Olympiad, held in Athens, Greece in 1896. International Olympic Committee (IOC) has the responsibility of the organization of the summer and winter Games ensuring the broadcast in all corners of earth. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the responsible organization of the fight against doping in sports. IOC and WADA support the event's country WADA Accredited Laboratory to incorporate the maximum of the new analytical technologies to become applicable during the event's antidoping testing. The current study reviewed the last 5 years progresses of the antidoping system with emphasis on the laboratory field.

Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) in Sports: A Review

Selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs) are an exciting group of molecules with pronounced anabolic effects and very weak to missing androgenic ones. This is due to the tissue selectivity they possess and is their big advantage over anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS). As a result of this SARMs tend to be a big promise for improving the treatment process in different socially significant diseases such as osteoporosis, muscle wasting, benign prostatic hyperplasia, hypogonadism, sexual dysfunction, neurodegenerative diseases etc. SARMs are included in the prohibited list of World Anti-Doping agency (WADA) as they are a temptation for a lot of athletes regarding the exerted strong anabolic effect. However, as SARMs are freely available on the internet there are some reports for positive doping tests in professional sports connected with them. Still further research is needed to examine all the side effects of SARMs. Some of them may be harmful so both professional and amateur sportsmen, their coaches and doctors should be informed about this interesting topic. Keywords: SARM(s), anabolic effect, sports, doping, side effects

Leaky Bodies and the Stickiness of Testosterone in Women's Athletics

This article argues for a critical re-evaluation of anti-doping testing practices in international athletics, performed by The International Olympic Committee and World Athletics, as overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency. By carefully analysing anti-doping testing procedures and data taking, the conceptions of the body, with its multiplicity and sticky properties of testosterone become evident, revealing obscured connections between anti-doping and sex testing practices. Using a biopolitical framework, I trace the ways anxieties over gender, athletic ability, and race shape molecular level testing mechanisms, constructing and de-constructing the body in the process. This article draws on New Materialist theories and Feminist Science and Technology Studies scholarship, including: Anne Fausto-Sterling’s history of hormones; Sara Ahmed’s concept of ‘sticking’; Annemarie Mol’s ‘the body multiple’; Rebecca Jordan-Young and Katrina Karkazis’s work on testosterone; and Margrit Shildrick’s theory of ‘leaky bodies’ to argue that the racialised and gendered history of testosterone continue to linger on in the ways this hormone is tested and regulated in women’s athletics. This biopolitical system of surveillance in international sports is founded on an ideal of the body as autonomous, whole, and classifiable within a sexed binary. Yet, there is a distinct tension between this understanding of the body and the ways testing is executed, which relies on leaks, extractions, dissections, and manipulations of the athlete’s bodily substances to in order to discipline it into normalising categories of sex.

Cherry-Picking and Lemon-Dropping Lessons from Anti-Doping to Boost Abuse Prevention in Sport

Unethical behaviors in sport are a matter of global concern. The current surge in reports on abuse of athletes across Sports and all over the world is reminiscent of the doping scandals in the 1980s and 1990s that made many believe that doping was endemic in sport. This realization eventually led to a concerted effort of sport stakeholders and the founding of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which has since established itself as the world’s governing body in anti-doping with substantial influence and power. Framing the history and trajectory of anti-doping as a precedent of what has worked and what has not in righting sports’ wrongs, this review asks: what can the two-decades-long anti-doping ‘fight’ teach us about protecting athletes from abuse? Exploring various aspects from the effectiveness of external Regulation and the challenges of a centralized legalistic approach to athlete health protection and accountability, several lessons that have implications for safeguarding athletes can be identified. Behavior change is a long and demanding process for individuals and organizations. Centering athletes’ voices and lived experiences in practical research approaches while integrating multi-sector stakeholders can help ensure that methods and findings are fit-for-purpose and inform effective, sustainable athlete-safeguarding practices, programs, and policies.

SporTRIA study—a multicentre trial protocol for excretion kinetics of triamcinolone acetonide following sport-related intra-articular injections in knees: definitions of the washout periods

IntroductionIntra-articular (IA) and peri-articular glucocorticoid (GC) injections are common in sports medicine. However, from 1 January 2022, all injectable GC routes (including IA administration) will be prohibited in-competition by World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Owing to these rules, an IA GC treatment out-of-competition could result in an adverse analytical finding in-competition if the washout period is not clearly defined. The aim of this study is to determine the urinary excretion profile of triamcinolone acetonide following IA injection to strengthen the definition of the washout periods.Methods and analysisThis is a prospective multicentre trial to include 20 subjects who practice sports for at least 4 hours/week and present a knee disorder requiring IA injection of triamcinolone acetonide for therapeutic purposes. To determine the excretion profile of triamcinolone acetonide in both urine and blood following IA injection of the drug, We will perform 20 urinary tests and 20 dried blood spot tests, two prior to GC injection (baseline) and the last one at 35 days. Analyses will be performed by the French antidoping agency laboratory in accordance with WADA standards and regulations.Ethics and disseminationThe study protocol was approved by the French ethics committee (CPP Sud Est III—Lyon—2020-070B on 06 October 2020). All subjects will provide written informed consent. The results of this study will be accessible in peer-reviewed publication and be presented at academic conference.Trial registration numberNCT04574232.

Problems and solutions occurred for using doping substances

Doping is now a global problem that follows international sporting events worldwide. International sports federations, led by the International Olympic Committee and World Anti-Doping Agency have for the past half century attempted to stop the spread of this problem, with little effect. It was expected that, with educational programs, testing, and supportive medical treatment, this substance-abusing behavior would decrease. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. In fact, new, more powerful and undetectable doping techniques and substances are now abused by professional athletes, while sophisticated networks of distribution have developed. Professional athletes are often the role models of adolescent and young adult populations, who often mimic their behaviors, including the abuse of drugs. This review of doping within international sports is to inform the international psychiatric community and addiction treatment professionals of the historical basis of doping in sport and its spread to vulnerable athletic and non-athletic populations. Keywords: doping, harmful aspects, existing problems, control of doping, ethics of sports