ABSTRACT
Recognition of the problem of performance-enhancing drugs in sport occurred in the 1920s, when the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) banned the use of stimulants, but without the availability of a test to detect their use. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA; soccer) were among the first international sports federations to introduce doping tests in their respective World Championships in the 1960s. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) formed a Medical Commission in 1967 to deal with the perceived increase in drugs and other performance-enhancing substances that not only affected the evenness of the playing field but also exposed the athlete to health risks. In 1982, the IOC came to an agreement with the IAAF, whose medical commission had established standards for accrediting anti-doping laboratories, to assume the accreditation role. In the mid-1980s, the IOC recruited a number of laboratories to carry out drug testing worldwide. The initial IOC laboratory “accreditation” process began in 1985. In 1998, the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code (OMADC) was drafted, which established a more rigorous legal basis for the anti-doping process. The purpose of testing was not simply to catch cheaters, but rather to deter the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
