Chris Cooper - Run, Swim, Throw, Cheat: The Science Behind Drugs in Sport

RUN, SWIM, THROW, CHEAT

The Science behind drugs in sport

Chris Cooper

Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX 2 6 DP ,
United Kingdom

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Chris Cooper 2012

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First Edition published in 2012

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The 1988 Olympic Mens 100 m race in Seoul
Sports Illustrated/Getty Images

The 2005 World Championship 1500 m race in Helsinki
Gary Hershorn/Reuters/Corbis

A comparison of male and female Olympic records in athletics

Distribution of fastest 800 m running times in UK and the World

Distribution of 147 maximum breaks in the world snooker championships

The cycle of life

Different fuels for different distances
Paula Radcliffe: PCN Photography/PCN/Corbis;
Usain Bolt: PCN Corbis

Factors that can control oxygen consumption during exercise

Comparison of the amount of oxygen in plasma and red blood cells

Amplification of hormone signalling by a phosphorylation cascade

The mTOR GO pathway for turning on protein synthesis

A bull with a genetic defect decreasing myostatin production Yann Arthus-Bertrand/Corbis

The myostatin STOP pathway for turning off muscle protein synthesis

Spot the difference

Making a sex hormone from cholesterol

How do steroid hormones work?

How does testosterone increase muscle growth?

Worlds best shot put performances for males and females

Stimulants and brain signalling

Amphetamine

Coffee and metabolism OUP

How caffeine keeps you running

Lee Evans waving a Black Panther beret during medal ceremony AP/Press Association Images

A competition assay for detecting drugs

Using chromatography to separate compounds

Detecting EPO

Detecting gene doping

The idea for this book arose from discussions with students and staff at the Centre for Sports and Exercise Science at the University of Essex. I particularly thank Jerry Shearman, Martin Sellens, and Mike Wilson who encouraged me to think of applying my biochemical ideas to sports science. I am also grateful for the support of the many scientistsat Essex and elsewherewho suggested helpful improvements to the content of this book. These include Ralph Beneke, Yagesh Bhambani, Stephen Harridge, Gareth Jones, Hugh Montgomery, Ceri Nicholas, Peter Rasmussen, Kevin Tipton, Niels Vollaard, Anna Wittekind and John Wyatt.

This has been my first book targeted at a general readership. I am indebted to Jules Pretty for supporting me in this endeavour and contributing valuable advice both on the scientific content and, especially, on the art of popular science writing. My wife, Helen Cooper, provided the insightsas well as the aggressive proofreadingof an intelligent non-scientist.

I especially wish to acknowledge the UKs Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) for providing the support of their innovative Senior Media Fellowship programme; this paid for relief from my formal academic duties, providing the free time to dedicate to writing. At Oxford University Press, Emma Marchant and Erica Martin assisted with technical details of the book whilst Latha Menon provided valuable advice on content.

Finally writing a book is a time consuming and emotional commitment. I could not have succeeded without the support of my family especially my mother Maria, my wife Helen and my two children Lauren and Alex.

The 1988 Mens 100 m Olympic Final has been called the most corrupt race ever. It took everyones breath away. One man ran a tenth of a second faster than any person had ever done. The world record was smashed. The world celebrated, for a day. And then the new myth fell apart. Ben Johnson, hero of all Canada, was a cheat. Though some of the offences were minor compared to his, subsequent events implicated six of the eight sprinters in that race in activities thatat one time or anotherwould have them banned from winning Olympic gold medals.

I remember the race vividly. I was researching my PhD in Canada at the time, but was on holiday back in the UK. Two Canadians and a Briton were lined up in the final. I stayed up until four oclock in the morning. Although it could be argued that I had dual loyalty between the Commonwealth allies, my main desire was in rooting for the underdog. Could someone beat the seemingly all-powerful US teamin this case exemplified by the not-quite-so-humble current Olympic champion and former world record holder Carl Lewis? Ben Johnson the current world record holder and ).

Johnson was first in an astonishing time of 9.79 smore than 0.1 s faster than any other man had ever run and a time set whilst celebrating victory before reaching the line. But what happened two days later shocked the sporting world, and especially Canada. Johnson tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol, the gold medal was removed, and his career collapsed. He tested positive for steroids a second time during an abortive comeback in 1993 and was banned for life by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

Second place went to Carl Lewis (USA) who was awarded the gold medal when Ben Johnson was disqualified. However, at the 1988 US Olympic trials Lewis tested positive for the banned stimulants pseudoephedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine. At the time the US Olympic Committee (USOC) policy was not to ban athletes for stimulant use unless it was demonstrated that there was a deliberate attempt to affect performance. Inadvertent use of herbal supplements or over-the-counter cold remedies would not result in a ban (a decision upheld by an IAAF investigation in 2003). The same defence has not worked in other sports illustrating the anomalies of anti-doping systems. For example the 16-year old Romanian gymnast, Andreea Raducan, was stripped of her gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics when her coach gave her a pseudoephedrine-containing Nurofen pill as a cold therapy.