ABSTRACT
The former Italian athletics trainer, Alessandro Donati, who has since become one of the world leading doping experts, has provided significant insights into the complex psychology of doping use and in the following I am drawing heavily on his work. In 1981, Donati was contacted by Professor Dr Francesco Conconi, who had a proposal to make. Conconi had become familiar with a performance-enhancing technique in Finland, which he had then developed further. By using a ‘transfusion of selected red blood cells, in which these cells were stored at −90°C, enriched with particular substances and then transfused into the athlete two or three days before a major event’ (Donati 2004: 46), it was possible to achieve performance improvements of 3-5 seconds over 1500 metres, 15-20 seconds over 5000 metres and 30-40 seconds over 10,000 metres. This improvement was hugely significant, and the technique was not yet on the doping list. Donati just did not find the idea very appealing. He chose to present the
proposal to the seven athletes he was responsible for without concealing the fact that he was against the idea. It would, however, be up to them to decide whether they wished to collaborate with Conconi. There was no doubt that their chances of winning would improve. And if they chose to opt for Conconi’s programme, then Donati would withdraw as trainer without making a fuss and return to his position on CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee. The athletes were training with an eye on the Olympic Games in Los Angeles three years later. Nevertheless all of them expressed the view that they would never dream of going along with the transfusion technique. After a few weeks had passed, Conconi wrote to Primo Nebiolo, who was President of both the Italian Athletics Association and the International Association of Athletics Federations, to say that Donati was refusing to cooperate. Shortly afterwards Donati was contacted by the chief trainer of the national athletics team, who attempted without success to put pressure on him to change his position. Donati replied that he would have to find a new trainer, if he insisted on using the programme. And there the matter rested. For a time. Once the Olympic Games started to loom closer, the association became more aggressive. The athletes were now called to a meeting and asked directly whether they would be prepared to increase their performance levels
in the run-up to the Games with the assistance of the blood transfusion technique. Donati was also present but was obliged to keep his opinions to himself. Once again the athletes declined.
