Doping
Illegal usage of personal enhancement drugs
Known PEDs
Lean mass builders, which drive or amplify the growth of muscle and lean body mass, are also used to reduce body fat. They can also reduce the time it takes an athlete to recover from an injury. This class of drugs includes anabolic steroids, xenoandrogens, beta-2 agonists, selective androgen receptor modulators (SARMs), and various human hormones, most notably human growth hormone, as well as some of their prodrugs. Performance-enhancing drugs are also found in animals as synthetic growth hormone.
Painkillers allow performance to go further beyond your usual breaking point. Some painkillers raise blood pressure, increasing the oxygen supply to muscle cells. Painkillers used by athletes range from common over-the-counter medicines to powerful prescription narcotics.
Sedatives and anxiolytics are sometimes used in sports like archery which require steady hands and accurate aim, and also to overcome excessive nervousness or discomfort. Diazepam and propranolol are common examples; ethanol and cannabis are also used occasionally.
Diuretics expel water from the body. They are often used by athletes who need to meet weight restrictions, such as wrestlers. Many stimulants also have a secondary diuretic effect and are also used as masking drugs.
Blood boosters increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood beyond the individual's natural capacity. They are used in endurance sports like cycling and Nordic skiing. EPO is one of the most widely-known drugs in this class.
Masking drugs, as a group, do not have any specific type of effect; a masking drug is simply any drug used to prevent the detection of other classes of drugs. The chemical compositions and administration regimens of masking drugs change as quickly as testing methods do. A common example of a masking drug is epitestosterone, which possesses no performance-enhancing effects, but restores the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio (a common criterion in steroid testing) to normal levels after anabolic steroid supplementation.
Use by Athletes
Marion Jones - Track and Field Athlete
In October 2007, Marion Jones famed track and field athlete admitted to lying to federal prosecuters investigating the BALCO affair.
Jones competed in her first Olympics in Sydney in 2000. Though she was aiming for five gold medals, Jones came home with three gold and two bronze, a feat that had never been achieved by a female athlete.
Following the Sydney games, doping allegations continued to follow the Olympic star. For starters, her ex-husband C.J. Hunter had tested positive numerous times for steroid use. Then, when the BALCO scandal broke, Jones was again implicated as having been one of the many athletes to use "the Clear," a steroid that at the time was undetectable through urine tests. Ironically, it was Jones' coach Trevor Graham who first exposed BALCO by anonymously sending a used syringe containing Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) to the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
In a 2004 interview, BALCO founder Victor Conte told 20/20 that he had personally given Jones five different types of performance enhancing drugs before, after, and during the Sydney Olympics. After a test Marion was tested positive but a follow up said she was clean.
In October 2007, Jones admitted to lying to federal prosecuters investigating the BALCO affair. She was stripped of her five Olympic medals and sentenced to six months in prison and 800 hours of community service.