No one is truly certain where using performance enhancing drugs in sports began. To really define it, we’d have to first define what is, and more importantly what isn’t, a performance enhancing drug, or PED. A PED is usually a drug that enhances one or more physical or mental abilities, like a steroid or stimulant. These drugs are used by bodybuilders, cyclists, track and field athletes, and many others in a variety of different sports. Essentially, if an athlete is more likely to win in their sport by being 10{b340406b661c1e5732b86e4172a84f651d0df9d8967334cfa4a3aae0d4c8bfbd} better than someone who isn’t using a drug, it’s likely that PEDs are being abused in that sport. However, where do we draw the line on what isn’t and what is considered performance enhancing? We known things like anabolic steroids are banned, but why not a common stimulant like caffeine? Do both these things not perform a similar function of increasing abilities? The answers to why certain drugs and chemicals are banned while others are not is complex, and to understand it, we must look at the history of doping in sports.
The ancient Olympics held in Greece most likely were home to the first instances of performance enhancing drugs, although now we may look at what they consumed as strange and nonsensical. Historians believe the ancient Olympians consumed animal organs like hearts, drank potions, and consumed some form of opium. Opium affects the body by creating a rush that lasts for a short while, followed by a period of rest. This initial rush would likely allow athletes to have a better, if not short term, performance at the games. Historians believed that despite the initial boosts in performance, it was likely opium addiction followed. Athletes were also known to experiment with herbal tea, which is still practiced today in many cultures and sports.
Jumping to the modern era, PED abuse similar to what we see today likely started in the late 1800s. At the time, the coca leaf had been discovered, which would later become the source of cocaine. Scientists in the mid 1800s had been able to isolate the alkaloid in coca, which eventually allowed for the synthesis of cocaine as a drug. Cyclists and other athletes began using this early form of cocaine to fight off fatigue and hunger in long races. This was common until regulations were put in place on drugs like cocaine and heroin, making them only available to those with a prescription. Due to the widespread use of these drugs and the damaging side effects that followed, the International Association of Athletics Federation was created to monitor track and field athletes and ban any use of these drugs by athletes. The IAAF is still the de facto governing body for track and field athletes, and is even providing official rulings in the case against the Russian athletes of the Rio Olympic games.
Drugs like cocaine and heroin were banned mostly due to widespread abuse, but the severe addictions to opioids
and stimulants and the side effects that came with their continued used prompted officials to enact at least some form of early regulation. Their addictive and damaging properties are what prompted response and what still define what substances are and are not banned. While things like caffeine and herbal remedies can increase functioning on some level, they are nowhere near as effective or damaging to the overall health of the user. The history of doping in sports only gets more interesting, so come back tomorrow to follow doping in sports into the 21st century.
