Drug Testing Olympic Athletes in 2012

From a female shot putter from Belarus to Kobe Bryant, testing for drugs, mainly steroids, has been absolutely epic this Olympics. While some might think that trying to get away with steroid use is an outdated mode of winning, others know it’s as much an epidemic today as it was in the 1980s and 1990s.
 
According to St. Louis Today, a Syrian hurdler was denied access to compete in the Olympics, and the Sacramento Bee tells the story of a record speed Columbian runner who won’t be competing either—all because of suspected drug use.
 
Why is this happening? Or maybe the better question is, why are performance-enhancing drugs so popular at the event that is most representative of sportsmanship in the history of mankind?
 
According to The Chicago Tribune, it could be more a matter of better science where drug testing is concerned--that is to say, this Olympics could be more a showcase of technology and better science in drug testing than any real escalation in this kind of drug-related activity.
 
Former chief of the Anti-Doping Agency, Dick Pound, stated, “I think we are gaining and getting better at science. We are starting to get better at smart testing.” If this is any indication of the direction of laboratory drug testing, knowing how to pass a drug test could become a more and more crucial factor, even for laypersons just trying to land a job. As a general rule, there is a trickle-down effect when it comes to lab testing—first it’s used where it can be afforded in its preliminary stages, then it becomes cheaper, and therefore more within reach for every day use, such as urine drug testing for pre-employment or enrollment in some schools.
 
One thing we can all be sure of, more athletes are coming down this week, and stories continue to crop up across the Internet and newspapers across the world—in the spotlight now: according to Reuters, the Jamaican sprinting team—mainly because of their incredible success and taking home “too many medals.”

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Janie M Diaz

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