Olympic athlete drug-testing

Olympic athletes are tested to see that they are not using illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Suppose that urine samples are taken and analyzed and the rate of false positive results is 1%. Sup-... 

Longman, Jere. Test Results Demand Time for Introspection. Netv York Times, November 15, 2003, p. DL The disparity between the very strict drug bans for Olympic athletes and the relatively minor sanctions recently enacted by Major League Baseball has provoked questions of fair-... 

As of early 2002, creatine supplementation was not on the list of banned or prohibited supplements of the International Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Committee, or the NCAA. However, since nutritional supplements are not closely regulated by the FDA, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (the USADA, which oversees drug testing for the USOC) warns that ingestion of any nutritional supplement is at the athlete s own risk. 

Testing for the presence of drugs in blood in race horses and in Olympic athletes... 

The Paralympics are also not immune to cases of doping. The IPC, the International Paralympic Committee that oversees the event, uses the same list of banned substances as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In fact, two powerlifters tested positive for diuretics in out-of-competition tests before the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, and were banned from those games. However, depending on their medical needs, disabled athletes may successfully apply to therapeutically use certain listed drugs, including diuretics. 

Synthetic anabolic steroids were originally developed in the 1930s for use in treating illnesses and Injuries that involved muscle deterioration. Unfortunately, the development of these drugs led to rampant abuse by athletes and bodybuilders, even as early as the 1940s. The problem received wide public attention during the 1988 Olympics when Ben Johnson (Canada) was disqualified as the gold medal winner of the 100-meter dash because his urine tested positive for traces of stanozolol. 

Known as The Clear , it was supplied by BALCO (the Californian Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative) to chosen athletes. The leading drug tester, Don Catlin, is reported to have examined some 20 urine samples that tested positive for THG. Athletes known to have taken it include the British sprinter Dwain Chambers and a number of Americans, including the sprinter Kelli White and middle-distance runner Reginajacobs. Marionjones, who won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, admitted THG use in 2007 and was stripped of these medals by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (lAAF). 

---