The quest for clean competition in sports: are the testers catching the dopers?

The practice of using prohibited substances to enhance sports performance (typically referred to as “doping”) is a very old practice that has been with us for centuries. To ensure harmonized, coordinated, and effective antidoping programs, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) was created as an independent agency. The WADA publishes a list of prohibited substances annually, and the presence of any prohibited substance or metabolite in an athlete’s sample constitutes an antidoping rule violation. Over the years, testing programs have continued to expand, and WADA-accredited laboratory testing has increased 40% over the last 3 years. The issue of sports doping has gained widespread attention, and the public seems to be continually reminded of athletes who dope and the potential growing problem of doping at all levels of competition. Surprisingly, an athlete has come forward and stated that it is impossible to win a cycling event like the Tour de France without doping. In this Q&A article, 4 leaders with different roles in the antidoping effort have been asked to comment on the success of antidoping programs and major challenges facing antidoping programs, elite athletes, and laboratories in the fight to maintain fair and clean competition.