ABSTRACT
The desire to win has existed in athletes since time immemorial. This desire has fueled the use of substances to enhance performance irrespective of the ability of a substance to actually improve performance. Reports of use of various herbal materials, even in ancient times, exist and indicate that stimulants have been a preferred category of substances for performance enhancement. In recent years, the remarkable developments in the pharmaceutical industry have only fueled the use of performance-enhancing substances, and the use of medications and methods to enhance performance has become widespread among athletes and the general population. During the 1930s, amphetamines came into favor as a stimulant, and allegedly were used in various sports through the 1940s and 1950s. In the 1952 Olympic Winter Games, several speed skaters became ill and needed medical attention after taking amphetamines.1
The event that caught the attention of the International Olympic Committee and sports enthusiasts worldwide was the televised death in the 1967 Tour de France of the British cyclist Tom Simpson as recorded in Put me back on my bike.2 Following several years of development of anti-doping programs, an independent organization, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), was established to implement and harmonize anti-doping efforts worldwide.
