The types of performance-enhancing drugs and their effects, the reasons athletes dope and the arguments for and against, and the strategies used to combat doping.

A Component 03 application question. Marks for naming two classes and a correct benefit for each.

Award marks for: anabolic steroids mimic testosterone, increasing muscle mass, strength and the ability to train harder and recover faster, benefiting power and strength athletes (sprinters, throwers, weightlifters). Erythropoietin (EPO) and blood doping increase the production of red blood cells, raising the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood and therefore aerobic endurance, benefiting endurance athletes (cyclists, distance runners). Other valid classes include stimulants (increasing alertness and reducing fatigue), beta blockers (steadying the hands and lowering heart rate for precision sports), and peptide hormones or diuretics (used to mask other drugs).

Markers reward two distinct classes with a benefit matched to the type of event (steroids for power, EPO for endurance).

A Component 03 extended-response (levels of response) question. Markers reward arguments on both sides (AO1 and AO2) and a reasoned judgement on strategies (AO3).

Award credit for: arguments against doping (and for the ban) include that it is cheating and unfair, it harms the athlete's health (steroids cause organ damage and aggression, EPO thickens the blood and risks clots and death), it sets a bad example to young people and damages the image and integrity of sport, and athletes cannot truly consent under pressure. Arguments sometimes made for allowing drugs include that bans are hard to enforce and create an uneven playing field between the caught and the undetected, that athletes already use legal aids and extreme methods, and that supervised use might be safer; these are generally outweighed by the harm and unfairness. Strategies to combat doping include the work of WADA and national bodies, in- and out-of-competition random testing, the athlete whereabouts system and the biological passport, education programmes, and strict sanctions (bans, stripped medals). A reasoned answer judges that, on balance, the health risks and unfairness justify the ban, and that a combination of testing, the biological passport and education is more effective than testing alone, though detection always lags behind new drugs.

A top answer weighs both sides, comes down for the ban on health and fairness grounds, and evaluates the anti-doping strategies, reaching a judgement.