Drug Testing in athletes (Part 2)

As stated in the previous section, drug tests have become largely popular in the sports agency. A lot of importance is laid on their schedule and subsequent results. Careers are made and broken on the outcome; it is therefore necessary that the protocol is followed and entire methodology is observed properly.
Where are samples tested?
Because of extreme sensitivity of the tests, they are not allowed to be tested in ordinary laboratories. Fool proof premises are provided that cannot be bribed or tempered with in anyway. The list of recommended laboratories is created by IOC and puts quite a lot of burden on the staff. Annual meetings have to be organized to discuss new discoveries in the field, at the same time a lot of effort has to be put in devising an annual testing schedule for the athletes. These institutes are dedicated solely for covering sports bona fide program; individual tests, even for renowned athletes, are completely banned. Any violation to this code of ethics will result in strict penalty for the offender.

IOC has instructed a total of 25 laboratories across the globe to carry out this tedious task. Majority of these facilities are based in Europe while three are in USA. China, Japan, Australia and Korea have one each. After the recommendation for establishment of a new laboratory is passed, at least a couple of years are required to collect all the necessary apparatus and learned professionals. Future plans involve Hungary, Malaysia, Zimbabwe and Brazil along with Indonesia and Poland.

Nothing tested by the laboratory is final. Even after the results are positive, it is advisable not to issue a statement hurriedly. The positive results undergo further scientific study and everything is reviewed in a great detail by experienced panel members. If the urine sample isn’t properly preserved or transported or if athlete has consumed a meal contain poppy seeds and steroid-injected chicken, results are false positive making it mandatory for the authorities to organize a second panel of investigations. In addition, when one of the two urine samples collected shows presence of offending agents, an athlete or one of his trusted employees are called to witness the condition of the second sample; they confirm that the sample is currently in the exactly same state in which they had last seen it. Even after all the precautions the results are unfavorable, the accused person is entitled to a lawyer and proper court proceedings to defend his cause. Though media is not involved in case ball turns in the court, they almost always get a whiff and build a huge scandal over nothing.

If everything goes against the athlete, he has to suffer penalties. The nature of penalties is largely dependent on the manifesto of the associated sports organization but literally always includes suspension of athlete from future competitions. A major determinant of the extent of punishment allocated is the type of drug ingested. Anabolic steroids and beta blockers are considered as grievous offences and the results of their detection are almost always severe. IOC is regarded as the authority on the matter but it only investigates offenses made during Olympic Games; during remainder of the year all respective national sports organizations follow their own rules and decisions. The entire process is sufficient to make the accused athlete weary; he has to put up with all the media crap, wait endlessly for the results of the court proceedings, spend thousands on the lawyer and yet suffer from embarrassment and ban after the results are not in his favor. Though IOC is pretty efficient and announces decision within a few hours’ time, most national and international courts take months to come up with the final verdict. Prior to testing, athletes are instructed not to consume canned foods or drinks (because of the likely risk of bacterial growth). Even mineral water bottles are provided by the testing authority to rule out sabotage at all levels. Sometimes athletes admit to the wrong doing and save themselves from a lot of harassment, others cling to their apparent innocence and get a lot of negative publicity as a result.

Authentic citing from history:

Doping was started first time in Germany and for quite a while the entire world was in awe of the tremendous performance of their athletes in all quarters; Germans guarded their secret well but apparently not well enough for sooner than later similar citing erupted in several parts of the globe. The offending agents were caught only when sports authorities decided to give a fair competition and ban the use of performance-enhancing substances.

Doping tests were carried out on a large scale in international Olympic Games of 1996. This was the first ever year when all the athletes were tested for steroid use by their national agencies and also by Olympic authorities. All the medalists were tested while some of the non-medalists were tested at random. From the participating teams reaching semifinals, a couple of members were selected and tested. The testing nature was largely random; checking a few while pardoning others. All the samples collected were done so under direct observation. The laboratories rapidly produced results and within twenty four hours hearings were planned for all those with positive outcomes. If all the evidence and proceedings ruled out the pleas of the athlete, he or she was kicked out from the annual Games.

First drug testing facility in USA was set up by USOC in 1984. From the year of its birth till 1996, a total of 128 positive cases for steroids and 7 for beta blockers were detected. Because male members are more into drugs, as much as seventy percent of the subjects screened were men. The numbers have subsequently increased dramatically because of the increased awareness among athletes and due to stricter punishments now being implemented. USOC is a broad authority checking both national and international players and issuing results for both. Each year an average of 3500 samples are collected by USOC with the offenders getting a good share. you can buy anabolic steroids or buy sustanon from our website.