ABSTRACT
The contemporary crisis has its roots in the early twentieth century when the social elites who controlled sport associated drug use with immoral behaviours contrary to the amateur sport idealism promoted by middle- and upper-class European men. During the 1960s the International Olympic Committee (IOC) led the fight against doping, and instilled their policies with a strong sense of morality. However, by the 1970s the explosion of steroid use made it impossible to control doping; and the politics of cold-war rivalries meant that none of the sports superpowers had the desire to restrict their athletes’ opportunities for performance enhancement. Despite these challenges and setbacks, the IOC and others presented a public narrative of success that masked ongoing failures. The scandals of 1980s and 1990s showed that the policies and science supporting anti-doping needed radical reconsideration. The IOC attempted to take control by organising a world conference in Lausanne, where their headquarters is located. Strong critique from politicians led to their original plan for an Olympic Anti-Doping Agency being transformed into a more independent World Anti-Doping Agency. However, the ideology connecting amateur values, morality and anti-doping was simply reinforced, despite the significant changes to sports economics, culture, and pharmaceutics.
