Why do athletes dope, and how does sport try to stop them?
Doping in sport, the reasons performers use illegal performance-enhancing drugs and methods, the arguments for and against doping, and the strategies used to eliminate it including WADA, testing and education.
A focused WJEC A-Level PE answer on doping in sport, covering the reasons performers use illegal performance-enhancing drugs and methods, the arguments for and against doping, and the strategies to eliminate it including WADA, drug testing, the biological passport and education.
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What this dot point is asking
WJEC wants you to explain what doping is, the reasons performers use illegal performance-enhancing drugs and methods, the arguments for and against allowing doping, and the strategies used to eliminate it, including the role of WADA, testing, the biological passport and education. The skill is grouping the reasons (physiological, psychological, social) and describing the anti-doping strategies precisely.
What doping is
The main classes of banned aids and their effects:
- Anabolic steroids: build muscle, strength and power, and allow harder training.
- EPO and blood doping: raise the oxygen-carrying capacity of the blood, boosting endurance.
- Stimulants: increase alertness and reduce fatigue.
- Beta blockers: steady the hands and lower anxiety in precision sports.
- Diuretics: reduce weight quickly and can mask other drugs.
Why performers dope
The reasons group into three:
Arguments for and against doping
The exam may ask you to evaluate whether doping should be banned. Set out both sides.
The settled view in sport is that doping should be banned: the health risks and unfairness outweigh the arguments for it.
Strategies to eliminate doping
A combined approach works best: testing and the biological passport detect cheats, punishments deter them, and education prevents doping before it starts.
Examples in context
Example 1. EPO and blood doping in endurance sport. Raising oxygen-carrying capacity to boost endurance shows the physiological reason for doping and why the biological passport, which spots abnormal blood values over time, was introduced to catch it.
Example 2. Stripping titles and imposing bans. Removing medals and banning a repeat offender illustrates the punishment strategy, deterring doping by removing its rewards and reputation.
Try this
Q1. What does WADA stand for, and what is its role? [1 mark]
- Cue. The World Anti-Doping Agency; it coordinates global anti-doping, publishes the banned list and code, and harmonises the rules.
Q2. Give two reasons, from different categories, why a performer might dope. [2 marks]
- Cue. One physiological (a direct performance advantage or faster recovery) and one psychological or social (the win-at-all-costs ethic, the rewards for winning, or pressure from others).
Q3. Describe two strategies used to eliminate doping. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of: WADA-coordinated random testing, the whereabouts system, the athlete biological passport, bans and stripped medals, and education for a clean-sport culture.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
WJEC 20196 marksExplain the reasons why some elite performers choose to use illegal performance-enhancing drugs.Show worked answer →
Doping is a form of negative deviance, and its causes are physiological, psychological and social.
Physiological and performance reasons: drugs give a direct advantage, more muscle and power (anabolic steroids), more oxygen-carrying capacity and endurance (EPO, blood doping), faster recovery so harder training is possible, and reduced pain or anxiety (stimulants, beta blockers).
Psychological and pressure reasons: the win-at-all-costs (Lombardian) ethic and the belief that a real athlete sacrifices everything (over-conformity to the sport ethic) push performers to cross the line.
Social and commercial reasons: the huge financial and status rewards for winning under commercialisation, pressure from coaches, sponsors, media and even nations, and the sense that rivals are already doping so it is the only way to compete.
Markers reward reasons grouped as physiological gain, psychological pressure and social or commercial reward, not a single cause.
WJEC 20224 marksDescribe two strategies used to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.Show worked answer →
Several linked strategies are used to deter and detect doping.
Testing and detection: the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) coordinates random in- and out-of-competition testing, the whereabouts system that lets athletes be found for testing, and the athlete biological passport, which tracks an athlete's blood and hormone values over time to reveal doping indirectly.
Punishments and deterrence: bans (for example multi-year or life bans for repeat offences), stripping of medals and records, and fines reduce the incentive to dope.
Education and a clean-sport culture: programmes teach athletes the health risks and rules and promote the values of clean sport, so prevention is not only about catching cheats.
Markers reward two clearly described strategies (for example testing and the biological passport, or bans and education), each with how it works.
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