A Review of Anti-Doping Policies Prior to the Formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency

Although attempts to enhance athletic performance extend back before the word "doping" was first used in an English dictionary to denote a combination medicine containing opium, we are still struggling to eradicate substance abuse from sporting. According to ancient Olympic records, athletes back then drank natural substances and animal extracts as performance-enhancing drugs to increase their speed and endurance, hide discomfort, and allow injured competitors to compete. Later, with the development of modern pharmacology in the 19th century, pharmaceutical use increased, and top athletes started experimenting with pharmaceutical combinations to boost power and combat tiredness. There are several records of athletes going to great lengths because this practice was not illegal. Benefits were accompanied by risks, and after a number of fatalities, a code to outlaw performance-enhancing medications was eventually formed. This article seeks to trace the extent of doping use and strategies to curb it prior to the World AntiDoping Code's adoption in 2004