Media-led investigations aren’t the way to beat doping in sport

First paragraph: New allegations of doping in Kenya have surfaced just ahead of the Rio Olympics. They include athletes and coaches from other countries, making Kenya seem like a dopers' paradise with little testing or concern about drug taking.  Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/media-led-investigations-arent-the-way-to-beat-doping-in-sport-6245

Literature and Sports History: A Review of Recent Contributions

From first paragraph: During the 2008 European Championships the British newspaper the Observer offered the highly renowned author novelist A.S. Byatt the opportunity to write an essay about football. Being a female and a ‘highbrow’ writer (she has won the Booker Prize), the editor may well have imagined something original and controversial. It was indeed a surprise to me that Byatt had a passion for the sport, so I paid the essay more attention than I would a run-of-the-mill sports feature article in a newspaper. By the end of the essay I had almost come to the conclusion that sport and literature are and should remain two distinct worlds that should leave each other in peace. The essay was not only pretentious but, in my mind at least, significantly at odds with the populist experience of playing and watching football

A Critical Assessment of John Hoberman's Histories of Drugs in Sport

John Hoberman has been one of the most prominent historians of doping and anti-doping in world sport. His writings span two decades and include two monographs: Mortal Engines (1992) and Testosterone Dreams (2005). This article focuses on those two books and offers three principal forms of criticism. Firstly, that Hoberman does not offer conceptual clarity on issues such as doping regulation/liberalization. Secondly, that a powerful implicit theme of nostalgia and even anti-modernity underlies his analyses, though that has changed over time. And thirdly, that his historical methodology is questionable. The conclusion of this review is that while he offers some powerful thought-provoking arguments, these are undermined by a lack of consistency, misleading interpretation and presentation of source material, and a failure to follow rigorous historiographic methods

Review Essay: Understanding Olympic Tourism

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are likely to become one of the most controversial Games in recent memory. Perhaps not since the awarding of the Games to Moscow and the subsequent politically-motivated boycotts has a Games provoked so much debate and controversy. Ever since the International Olympic Committee announced that Beijing had won their bid, there have been consistent media stories that threaten to undermine the potential economic and social benefits to be gained from hosting the Olympics. These were enhanced around the time of the event itself as high numbers of journalists reported from the city itself. The major concerns about security, pollution, doping, and the political issues around Tibet and Darfur cast a shadow of negative publicity over the Games. A number of the world’s more important politicians refused their invitation to the opening and closing ceremonies. Some athletes spoke out against political issues. And there were protests during the period of the event by Chinese and foreign campaigners. Output Type: Book Revie

Seven steps to reboot the fight against doping in sport

First paragraph: The disqualification of Russia from the Rio Olympics appears to be a triumph for anti-doping. The World Anti-Doping Agency’s independent commission produced enough evidence to justify support for a ban from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Athletics Federations. We might yet see other sports organisations imposing sanctions on athletes. Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/seven-steps-to-reboot-the-fight-against-doping-in-sport-6158

Drugs in sport: A call for comparative research

When the American tennis star, Andre Agassi, recently admitted using crystal meth during his playing career, the salacious media coverage suggested that the public still remain concerned about what high-profile sports stars take. Fellow professionals were quick to jump to his defence. However, the feeling remains that sports men and women are role models for clean living and healthy lifestyles. This is especially important given the publicity around drugs, obesity and young people, as well of course as the Olympics are due in London in 2012. The question I wish to explore here is how drug use in sport can be seen as similar to and different from other forms of drug use. Following that, I want to outline some challenges facing education, prevention and policy decisions within sports organizations

Five questions for cycling chief Dave Brailsford

First paragraph: In his role as boss of professional cycling team Team Sky and former performance director for British Cycling, Dave Brailsford has enjoyed extraordinary success. His oversight started the ball rolling on an impressive haul of Olympic medals for Team GB over three tournaments, while Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins have delivered four victories since 2012 in the pro-sport’s prestige event, the Tour de France.  Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/five-questions-for-cycling-chief-dave-brailsford-7036

Three radical steps to derail doping in elite sport

First paragraph: Elite British cycling outfit Team Sky “crossed an ethical line” by giving medicines to squad members which could be used to enhance performance, according to the new UK parliamentary committee report into doping in British cycling and athletics. Though the report makes clear that the drug use was within global anti-doping rules, it devotes much attention to eight-times cycling medallist Bradley Wiggins and several occasions on which he took medicines before major races – he and Team Sky strenuously deny any wrongdoing.  Champion distance runner Mo Farah is also named. The report heavily criticises his doctor, Robin Chakraverty, for not recording the dose size of a restricted substance he injected into the athlete before the London Marathon in 2014 – Farah and Chakraverty insist they were within the rules. The report refers to “acute failures” in both British cycling and athletics around medicine procedures that urgently need addressed

Tougher rules on drugs in sport won’t help detect more doping

First paragraph: Professor Arnold Beckett, an English chemist and longstanding member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), played a leading role in developing tests to detect drug misuse in sports during the 1960s. Yet by the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the steroid epidemic was uncontrollable. That year he said of the policy struggles: “This is a war, and the war must go on.” Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/tougher-rules-on-drugs-in-sport-wont-help-detect-more-doping-3540

Black and white anti-doping fight nears stalemate – here’s how to break it

First paragraph: The world of anti doping in sport sometimes feels like a battle between opposing forces on the same side. The debate has become polarised between those advocating zero tolerance and those who want to accept performance enhancement as a reality to be managed.  Access this article on The Conversation website: https://theconversation.com/black-and-white-anti-doping-fight-nears-stalemate-heres-how-to-break-it-6548