April Henning - Böcker

Why is doping a perennial problem for sport? Is this solely a contemporary phenomenon? And should doping always be regarded as cheating, or do today’s anti-doping measures go too far?Drawing on case studies from the early twentieth century to the present day, Doping: A Sporting History explores why the current anti-doping system looks as it does, charting its origins to the founding of the modern Olympic Games. From interwar notions of sporting purity to the post-war stimulant crisis, what seemed an easily resolvable problem soon became an impossible challenge as pharmacology improved, the policy system stuttered, and Cold War politics allowed doping to flourish. The late twentieth century saw the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency, but has the intensity of these global measures led to unintended harms?From the cyclist Tommy Simpson, who died in 1967 on Mont Ventoux with amphetamines in his jersey, to ?Team Russia’s expulsion from the 2018 Winter Olympics, Doping: A Sporting History is a gripping, provocative account that ultimately proposes a new approach: one for the inclusion and protection of athletes themselves.

Doping, as both practice and phenomenon, has largely been approached as a question of socio-cultural context and structures. Doping in Sport and Fitness argues that rigid differentiations between doping contexts – such as sport/fitness or elite/recreational – are less clear than it might seem. Breaking down these boundaries allows for a more complete understanding of substance use patterns, behaviours, and policy responses related to sport, fitness, and society.Contextual separations have greatly impacted how scholars have addressed the phenomena of doping in contemporary society, which in turn has impacted current anti-doping policies, preventative work, and harm reduction strategies globally. Bringing together research on doping and image and performance enhancement drug use (IPED) that highlights links between areas of doping research that have been previously separated, this collection includes contributions focusing on emerging and under-researched topics related to IPED use.Providing studies on new demographic groups of users, especially in terms of gender and age, Doping in Sport and Fitness suggests alternative ways of approaching the issue and supports providers such as coaches and drug service professionals.

Building on extensive online research with different drug communities and doping spaces, the authors illustrate how the online world of doping has developed into a digital ecosystem, and present an argument for understanding doping as a cyborgified concept.

Building on extensive online research with different drug communities and doping spaces, the authors illustrate how the online world of doping has developed into a digital ecosystem, and present an argument for understanding doping as a cyborgified concept.