The Anti-Doping Crisis in Sport
On September 20th, The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) made a “U-turn” and lifted the suspension on the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) even though they had not fulfilled the terms for their reinstatement, and despite worldwide protests from its member anti-doping agencies & athletes.
This has created what some insiders are calling the greatest anti-doping crisis in WADA’s history, but this is only the latest in a series of crises and scandals in the world anti-doping system that threaten their very existence.
Today’s episode covers the events leading up to the September 20th WADA decision to reinstate Russia, and the background for those new to this important subject.
About Our Guests
Dr. Paul Dimeo is a professor at the School of Sport at the University of Stirling in Stirling, Scotland. Dr. Dimeo was a Fulbright Commission Scholar at the University of Texas, Austin. His major research interest is doping in sport and the development of anti-doping policies. He is the author of numerous scholarly publications related to sports doping, including: A History of Drug Use in Sport, 1876-1976: Beyond Good and Evil, and Why Lance Armstrong? Historical Context and Key Turning Points in the “Cleaning Up” of Professional Cycling. His latest book is about the subject covered in this series: The Anti-Doping Crisis in Sport: Causes, Consequences, Solutions.
Dr. John Gleaves is an Associate Professor at California State University, Fullerton. His interest has been in studying sports doping and the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. He has written numerous articles and two books, The Rise and Fall of Olympic Amateurism and A Global History of Doping In Sports, on sports doping. He is currently producing a series of articles devoted to ethics and policy reforms for anti-doping efforts in sports.
Bengt Kayser MD, PhD is a professor at the Faculty of Biology and Medicine and Director of the Institute of Sports Sciences, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. He attained his doctorate in exercise physiology at the Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has published over 250 articles in peer reviewed journals, and written more than twenty chapters in various scholarly books. He is the author of Ethical Aspects of Doping and Anti-Doping: In Search of an Alternative Policy.