The upcoming weekend is expected to be thrilling for sports enthusiasts.
The World Aquatics Championships in Singapore enter their third weekend of events, while the renowned Tour de France wraps up on Sunday, signaling the conclusion of one of cycling's most esteemed competitions. To conclude the weekend, the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 final is scheduled for Sunday night in Basel, Switzerland, as world champions Spain take on European champions England.
These three significant occurrences involve various sports across different regions of the globe, yet they share a single unifying element: the fight against doping.
Athletes taking part in these competitions are carefully watched to make sure that these events are free of prohibited substances outlined by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)Prohibited List.
In the past three episodes of Euronews Next’s podcastEuronews Tech Talks, we have examined the challenges faced by anti-doping organizations in identifying performance-enhancing substances and the factors that lead certain professional athletes to use them.
But what specific physical health dangers are linked to the use of performance-enhancing substances?
Some preliminary remarks
Prior to examining the health dangers linked with several of the most frequently utilized performance-enhancing drugs, there are a few key considerations to highlight.
- It is not essential for a substance to harm human health in order for it to be prohibited.
In order to be listed on the WADA Prohibited List, medications and methods must meet at least two of the following three conditions: they have the ability to improve or have already improved athletic performance; they pose a real or possible health danger to the athlete; they go against the core values of sports.
This implies that a substance could either be performance-boosting and go against the essence of sports, or it might not present a real health danger but could carry a potential risk.
2. The study of doping presents significant challenges.
In episode 50, Francesco Botrè, head of the WADA-recognized anti-doping lab in Rome, noted that investigating doping is challenging because studies must adhere to ethical and health safety standards. For instance, researchers are unable to give participants high amounts of specific prohibited substances due to possible health dangers.
3. Investigations into performance-enhancing substances are comparatively new
As noted in episode 51by Dominic Sagoe, a Psychology Professor at the University of Bergen, doping research is still in its early stages, and the substances used by athletes are also new, which makes it challenging to evaluate their long-term impacts.
4. A medical conflict exists
In many cases related to health, it is challenging to definitively establish a cause-and-effect link between substance use and a bodily response, as various factors like genetics and environmental conditions are frequently neglected.
5. Difficult to identify
Athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs may consume multiple prohibited substances, complicating the identification of the specific health impacts of each drug.
Anabolic steroids
Anabolic steroids are some of the performance-enhancing drugs with the most thoroughly researched health impacts. They are commonly utilized in athletic events such as sprints or weightlifting due to their ability to accelerate protein synthesis in muscles, resulting in greater muscle size and power.
A well-known instance of steroid usage includes tennis player Jannik Sinner, who claimed victory at Wimbledon this year. The Italian athlete tested positive for performance-enhancing substances in March 2024 and was given a three-month suspension by WADA.
These items may result in significant physical adverse effects. "As the heart is also a muscle and steroids promote muscle development, the heart itself might also increase in size," said Astrid Kristine Bjørnebekk, head of the Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Research Group at Oslo University Hospital, to Euronews Health.
So the heart enlarges, the walls of the ventricles become thicker and less flexible, which impacts the heart's capacity to circulate blood throughout the body, and eventually, this may result in heart failure.
Some studieshave also indicated that these cardiac issues could remain for an extended period.
Bjørnebekk stated that anabolic steroids interfere with hormone production, and studies have also discovered decreased brain volume in the cerebral cortex among those who use them, although scientists are still investigating the significance of these changes.
Erythropoietin (EPO) and the use of blood enhancement techniques
Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone responsible for increasing red blood cell production, which boosts stamina. It is commonly utilized in sports like cycling and long-distance running.
In the same way, blood doping is done by taking out some blood and then giving it back to the body after the production of new blood cells has occurred. This boosts the overall number of red blood cells, enhancing the athlete's ability to perform for a brief period.
The most famous athlete associated with these substances is American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who confessed to using prohibited drugs during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013.
In general, both blood doping and EPO are linked to dangers such as infections and serious cardiovascular issues, including blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks.
Nevertheless, this confirmed link must be handled carefully and evaluated individually. For example, in the 1990s and 2000s,mediaand specialists indicated that more than 15 Belgian and Dutch cyclists had passed away from heart attacks in the late 1980s as a result of EPO usage. However, laterstudiesfound no definitive proof to back this assertion, indicating that the cause-and-effect link is more complex.
In contrast to steroids, the study of the long-term impacts of EPO and blood doping is somewhat more restricted.
Beta Blockers
Less recognized compared to other performance-enhancing substances, beta blockers are drugs typically prescribed for heart-related issues. They are prohibited in certain sports such as archery and shooting as they enable athletes to remain calmer, maintaining a lower heart rate and minimizing physical tension.
One of the most well-known athletes to have failed a test for beta blockers was North Korean shooter Kim Jong-su, who tested positive at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Typical adverse effects may involve tiredness, lightheadedness, vomiting, bowel constipation, and difficulty achieving an erection.
Regarding long-term matters, somestudieshave linked long-term use of beta blockers to a higher likelihood of developing Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, there is limited study dedicated specifically to the use of beta blockers in athletic contexts.