About Drug Tests for Athletes

Drug tests have become routine requirements for athletes because their drug use is of major concern to the general population. While some parents fear their children are subjected to negative role models through drug-using athletes, both sports participants and enthusiasts fear that the use of anabolic androgenic steroids and other drugs provides drug-using athletes with unfair physical advantages over non-using athletes.

History

• Drug testing was brought into the spotlight in 1988, during the Summer Olympic Games, when Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson competed in a 100-m dash. The event was to determine once and for all who was the best runner of the two athletes. Ben Johnson won the race, crossing the finish line in record time and becoming known as the "fastest man alive." One week later a drug test revealed that anabolic steroids were in his system, prompting a confession of drug use from him.

Methods

• Urine drug screens, samples used for chemical analysis, are the most common method of drug testing for athletes during Olympic events. According to answers.com, the most common method of drug testing at Olympic events is to require two urine samples from each athlete, referred to as sample A and sample B. The samples are stored in separate locations. If sample A produces positive indications of banned substance use, sample B is then tested. If sample B also yields positive results for the presence of banned substances, the athlete is asked to explain why this is the case.

Banned Substances

• Athletes are tested for the presence of four types of banned substances. The substances include stimulant drugs, beta-blockers, anabolic androgenic steroids and masking agents.

Stimulants and Beta-Blockers

• Stimulant drugs only produce positive effects on athletic performance for short periods after they are consumed. Stimulants must be ingested shortly before the athlete is expected to perform in order to enhance his or her performance during the event.
  Beta-blockers are drugs prescribed for the treatment of high blood pressure, glaucoma and migraines. According to Woodburne O. Levy, MD, athletes use beta-blockers to reduce anxiety, often a side effect of stimulant drug use. Both stimulant drugs and beta-blockers are easily detected through standard urine screen administration.

Anabolic Androgenic Steroids

• Anabolic androgenic steroids, sometimes called training drugs, are medically used for the treatment of delayed puberty, certain symptoms of AIDS and other diseases causing extensive loss of muscle mass. Anabolic androgenic steroids are the substances most often abused by athletes, in order to build muscle mass and enhance performance. Anabolic androgenic steroids do not have immediate effects, and require weeks of continued use to produce the desired changes in muscle mass and performance.
  Anabolic androgenic steroids are very difficult to detect through any present drug screening method available. Because they are generally taken in cycles alternating between periods of use and periods of rest, and are easily discontinued soon enough to avoid detection through urine samples, drug testing is not actually adequate or reliable in the case of anabolic androgenic steroids. While urine drug screens do not detect many cases of anabolic androgenic steroid use, there is currently no other method of drug testing that is any more efficient, causing the drugs to be easily abused, and often not detected through screening.

Masking Agents

• Masking agents are substances taken to mask the presence of other banned drugs in urine samples. Some examples of masking agents are diuretics, probenecid and epitestosterone. Masking agents only produce the desired results if taken immediately before a drug screen is administered, and all are very easy to detect, except epitestosterone.