In April 2021 United Kingdom Anti-Doping (UKAD) has reported an anti-doping rule violation against the visually impaired para-cyclist Erin McBride after her A and B sample tested positive for the prohibited substance Ostarine.

After notification the Athlete gave a prompt admission, waived her right for a hearing, accepted a provisional suspension and the sanction proposed by UKAD. The Athlete denied the intentional use of the substance and asserted that she could not demonstrate with any evidence that the violation was not intentional in order to receive a reduced sanction.

The Athlete testified that due to her visual impairment she had considerable difficulties in finding the source of the positive test results. She lacked the assistance of her boy friend during her investigations into her supplements whereas had she had  financial limitations that prevented her to test her supplements and to find the possible source of contamination.

UKAD finds that the presence of a prohibited substance has been established in the Athlete's samples and accordingly that she committed an anti-doping rule violation. UKAD considers that the Athlete gave a prompt admission as ground for a reduced sanction and that she failed to demonstrate that the violation was not intentional.

Therefore UKAD decides on 23 September to impose a reduced 3 year period of ineligibility on the Athlete, starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e. on 23 April 2021.

Effects of Appearance- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs on Personality Traits / Simona Zaami, Adele Minutillo, Ascanio Sirignano, Enrico Marinelli. - (Frontiers in Psychiatry 12 (2021) 730167 (24 September); p. 1-7) 

• PMID: 34630182
• PMCID: PMC8497711
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.730167

Abstract

Appearance- and performance-enhancing drugs (APEDs) are commonly used by adolescents and young adults in an effort to improve not only athletic performance but also physical and mental efficiency and sexual appearance. The rationale for using these drugs is grounded in the perceived importance of external appearance, the quest for health and youth, and the urge to boost one's sexual performances. Although APED users tend to be quite moderate overall, some specific subpopulations can display pathological use associated with high-risk behaviors. A wide and diverse range of APEDs is now easily accessible to almost anyone through backdoor online avenues. Common APEDs include anabolic-androgenic steroids, non-steroidal anabolics, anorectics, diuretics and ergo/thermogenics, nootropics or "cognition enhancers," licit and illicit psychostimulants, and finally, sexual enhancers. The use of APEDs appears linked to several psychopathological disorders of unclear prevalence, e.g., body image disorders and eating disorders, perfectionism, but also depression and loneliness. The role of personality traits related to APED use has been investigated in adolescents and young adults, in elite and amateur athletes, and in chemsexers and associated with the above-reported personality traits. The studies herein analyzed show that APED consumption in the general population is quickly growing into a public health concern. It is therefore essential to launch prevention and intervention projects aimed at promoting safe instrumental use of the body, not only in sports disciplines but also among the general population, and to promote psychological aid procedures for people with substance use issues, depression and anxiety, and body image disorders.

Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission Annual Report 2017/2018 / Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO). - Kingston : JADCO, 2018

Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission 2016–2017 Annual Report / Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO). - Kingston : JADCO, 2017

Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission 2015–2016 Annual Report / Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO). - Kingston : JADCO, 2016

Overview of Scientific Research funded by the World Anti-Doping Agency and Partnership for Clean Competition in the last 20 years : Scientific Research Report / Institute of National Anti-Doping Organisations (iNADO). - Bonn : iNADO, 2021

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Evolution of Scientific Research on Doping
3. Funded Research Projects per Region and Country
4. Funded Research Projects per Research Area

• 4.1 Funded Research on Analytical Methods for the Detection of Prohibited Substances/ Methods
• 4.2 Funded Research on the Effect of Substances and Methods on Physical Performance
• 4.3 Funded Research on Social Sciences

5. Organizations that have conducted research projects funded by WADA and PCC
6. Conclusions

In this report and in this short video, we present you the results of a project we conducted to get an overview of social and scientific research on anti-doping in the last 20 years, focusing mainly on research projects funded by two of the major funding organizations: the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and Partnership Competition Partnership (PCC), amounting each to over $83 million and $29 million in the last 20 years.

The report highlights how research evolved in terms of topics researched, the progressive increase of fundings and finally shed some light on trends: which countries and types of organizations concentrate most of the fundings, what are the new topics researchers focus on. The project also puts in perspective the trends observed with the funding organizations’ strategies, the current involvement of NADOs in Scientific and Social Sciences Research.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids and dietary supplements among resistance trained individuals in western cities of Saudi Arabia / Ameen Mosleh Almohammadi, Anas Mohammed Edriss, Turki Talal Enani. - (BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation 13 (2021) 1 (28 September); p. 1-7)

• PMID: 34583769
• PMCID: PMC8480089
• DOI: 10.1186/s13102-021-00345-6

Abstract

Background: Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) contain testosterone-like androgens and are used as supplements to improve performance, therapeutic measures, appearance, and muscular development.

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate using anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) and good and bad practices about dietary supplements among resistance-trained individuals. It further sought to determine the use of common drugs and supplements containing anabolic steroids among resistance-trained individuals (who work out at the sports centre) and assess users' knowledge about its side effects.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted at the sports centres of the western cities of Saudi Arabia. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from 120 male resistance-trained individuals.

Results: The majority of the participants (80%) reported that they had not used any hormonal bodybuilding supplement last year, while 20% said they had used such hormonal supplements. Approximately half (52.5%) of participants reported that they always used dietary supplements. A total of 44.2% of participants possessed inadequate knowledge of these products. The main reason behind the use of hormones and supplements was to increase muscle mass.

Conclusions: A minority of resistance-trained individuals in the studied population frequently misused AAS. However, the results cannot be generalised to the whole of Saudi Arabia. AAS consumption can be reduced by enhancing the level of awareness and knowledge of potential adverse health outcomes.

An exploration of doping-related perceptions and knowledge of disabled elite athletes in the UK and Austria / Kathrin Weber, Laurie B. Patterson, Cornelia Blank. - (Psychology of Sport and Exercise 58 (2022) 102061)

• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.102061

Abstract

Introduction

Compared to anti-doping research in Olympic sport, the issue of doping is under-researched and poorly understood in Paralympic sport. However, with the growth of the Paralympic Games and the increased number of disabled elite athletes, the number of doping controls and doping cases has also increased. Therefore, there is a need to address the dearth of evidence in disabled sport contexts and develop an understanding of disabled elite athletes' perceptions, reasons and knowledge related to doping to ensure appropriate policy and programmes are implemented.

Method

Sixteen disabled elite athletes from Austria (n = 9) and the UK (n = 7) participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using inductive reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019a).

Findings

Four themes were generated during the analysis. The first showed that athletes perceive doping to be a well-known and wide-spread issue in Paralympic sport. The second theme illustrated that disabled elite athletes are exposed to extreme pressure (e.g., to earn money), which they state poses a risk for using prohibited methods and/or substances. Thirdly, athletes suggested that there are several ways to cheat if someone would like to find ‘loopholes’ (e.g., misuse of Therapeutic Use Exemptions) in the current anti-doping system, which they reported only works partially. Lastly, although it is not officially named as an anti-doping rule violation, athletes proposed cheating on classification as a form of doping – and the greatest threat to the integrity of disabled sport.

Conclusions

For the first time, the current study shows that doping in the context of disabled elite sport likely stems from only a few main factors; a perception of pressure and faults in the anti-doping system. To address these risks, prize money could be distributed more broadly, the TUE process and classification system should be more closely scrutinised, and targeted anti-doping education that addresses the main risk factors in disabled elite sport should be provided for all athletes and their support team worldwide.

KeywordsParalympicsDopingAnti-Doping systemReasonsEducationThematic analysis

Related case:

TJD-AD 2021-013 Disciplinary Decision - Football
August 16, 2021

On 16 August 2021 the Brazilian Sports Justice Anti-Doping Tribunal (TJD-AD) decided to impose an 8 month period of ineligibility on the football player after he tested positive for the prohibited substances Hydrochlorothiazide and Sibutramine related to a product he had used.

In First Instance the TJD-AD Rapporteur had considered the circumstances and the Athlete's conduct in this case. He established that the label of the Athlete's product in question did not list the prohibited substances although the Athlete had failed to demonstrate sufficiently that this product in question was the source of these substances.

Hereafter the Brazilian Doping Control Authority (ABCD) appealed the Decision with the TJD-AD Appeal Tribunal and requested the Panel for a more sever sanction on the Athlete.

The Rapporteur of the Appeal Tribunal assessed the conduct of the Athlete and the alleged precedent of the Appealed Decision. He concludes that under the Rules there are no grounds for mitigating circumstances that justifies the sanction of 8 months, nor grounds to address the precedents in the Appealed Decision.

Therefore the TJD-AD Appeal Tribunal decides on 30 September that the ABCD Appeal is partially admissible and to impose a 24 month period of ineligibility on the Athlete.

Previously the Brazilian Sports Justice Anti-Doping Tribunal (TJD-AD) decided to impose a 3 month period of ineligibility on the football player after he tested positive for the prohibited substance Cocaïne in a low concentration.

Hereafter the Brazilian Doping Control Authority appelad the Decision with the TJD-AD Appeal Tribunal and requested the Panel for the imposition of a 3 year period of inelibibility on the Athlete.

ABCD contended that the Athlete had denied the violation and failed to establish how the substance entered his system due to his lack of cooperation. Accordingly he failed to demonstrate that the use of Cocaïne occurred out-of-competition, nor in a context unrelated to sports performance.

In view of the evidence in this case the Rapporteur concludes that the Athlete's use of Cocaïne was not intentional and unrelated to sports performance, whereas the concentration found in the Athlete's sample was below the WADA threshold.

Therefore the TJD-AD Appeal Tribunal decides on 30 September 2021 to uphold the imposed sanction of 3 months on the Athlete starting on the date of the provisional suspension, i.e on 2 March 2021.