Honest Sport

Honest Sport investigates doping and medicalisation in elite sports, highlighting cases across football, cycling, athletics, and more. It discusses issues like inadequate testing, regulatory failures, athlete admissions, and the involvement of medical professionals in doping practices.

Doping in Sports Regulatory Failures Athlete Admissions Performance Enhancement Medical Professionals Involvement

The hottest Substack posts of Honest Sport

And their main takeaways

13% of British athletes admit to doping, new study finds

99 implied HN points • 24 Jul 24
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Research Health Policy
  1. A study found that 13% of British athletes admitted to using banned substances. This suggests that doping may be more common in sports than people think.
  2. UKAD, the organization in charge of anti-doping in the UK, needs more responses from athletes to better understand the full scale of the problem.
  3. The study reveals a big gap between how many athletes might be doping and how few get caught. This raises concerns about the effectiveness of current anti-doping efforts.

Town Square #3: World Athletics to stress test US sprinter's contaminated-oxtail defence

19 implied HN points • 16 Aug 24
🎾 Sports Athletics Doping Competitions Regulations News
  1. Erriyon Knighton, a US sprinter, tested positive for a banned steroid but argued it was from contaminated oxtail. He provided evidence that the meat had been purchased for someone else.
  2. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has appealed against Knighton's ruling. If they win, he could be disqualified from the Paris Olympics.
  3. The case is different from another sprinter, Alex Wilson, who had a more dubious defense. Knighton's situation highlighted how contamination can happen with meat raised with growth hormones.

The Town Square: a resource to understand, and discuss doping in sports

79 implied HN points • 30 Apr 24
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Regulations Performance Health
  1. Doping in sports includes the use of drugs like steroids and EPO to enhance performance. Understanding how these substances work can help people grasp the extent of cheating in athletics.
  2. Not all doping cases are made public, even if athletes test positive. Many times, cases are dropped or kept secret, showing a gap in the enforcement of anti-doping rules.
  3. There are many resources available, like documentaries and articles, to learn more about doping. These can provide insights into athletes' experiences and the ongoing challenges in combating drug use in sports.

Part 1: The Pogba doping case, a reminder of Juventus' murky past

119 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🎾 Sports Doping Football Athletes Health Performance
  1. Paul Pogba tested positive for a banned substance, leading to a four-year ban, which raises questions about the effectiveness of player monitoring at Juventus.
  2. Juventus continues to consult a doctor linked to past doping scandals, which casts a shadow over the club's medical practices and integrity.
  3. The history of drug use at Juventus highlights issues of performance enhancement in sports, including the dangerous practices of administering banned substances without proper oversight.
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

Doping in Football - the Evidence

119 implied HN points • 13 Feb 24
🎾 Sports Doping Football Athletes Controversies Health
  1. Doping is a serious issue in football, but many cases are seen as unintentional mistakes. Players often claim they accidentally took banned substances.
  2. High-profile players and managers, like Gary Neville and Jurgen Klopp, have shared their thoughts on doping, showing that it's a topic many in football are starting to discuss openly.
  3. The current testing and regulations in football are quite limited compared to other sports, which raises concerns about the prevalence of doping at all levels of the game.

Nearly zero blood tests in La Liga, Thirteen doping positives in Spanish football

99 implied HN points • 28 Feb 24
🎾 Sports Doping Football Athletics Regulations Health
  1. Spanish football has had a total of 13 doping positives since 2017, but only two players have faced bans. This suggests there might be issues in how doping cases are handled in the sport.
  2. La Liga players have been subjected to almost no blood testing for several years, which is concerning. Effective testing for substances like Human Growth Hormone only happens through blood tests, and the lack of these could mean many doping cases go undetected.
  3. The treatment of doping violations seems unequal, with Spanish footballers facing fewer sanctions compared to other athletes in Spain. This raises questions about fairness in how doping rules are enforced.

Town Square #2: Kipchoge training partner caught blood doping

39 implied HN points • 18 May 24
🎾 Sports Athletics Doping Coaching Training Regulations
  1. Rodgers Kwemoi received a six-year ban for blood doping, marking him as the first Kenyan athlete to be disqualified from the Olympics due to doping.
  2. He was coached by Patrick Sang, who has had multiple athletes caught doping, raising questions about coaches' awareness of their athletes' actions.
  3. Doping continues to be a serious issue in athletics, damaging the sport's credibility and the reputation of Kenyan athletes.

Six British cyclists were investigated for banned testosterone use

99 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
🎾 Sports Doping Cycling Athletics Regulations Health
  1. Six British cyclists were investigated for using banned testosterone, which raised concerns about doping in the sport. Elevated testosterone levels were found in their tests but could not confirm illegal use at the time.
  2. A doctor for British Cycling ordered testosterone to the Manchester Velodrome, claiming it was for an unnamed rider, raising further questions about the integrity of anti-doping measures.
  3. Doping cases in British cycling are not widely shared anymore, making it hard to know how many cyclists have faced similar investigations in recent years. This change in transparency has made tracking doping issues more difficult.

Exclusive: Sir Bradley Wiggins took ketones in Tour de France-winning year

99 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Nutrition Cycling
  1. Sir Bradley Wiggins used ketones, a performance-enhancing drink, during his Tour de France victory in 2012. Ketones were originally developed for US Special Forces and were considered legal but controversial for athletes.
  2. UK Sport conducted a secret project involving ketone testing on British Olympians, including Wiggins, leading up to the London 2012 Olympics. They were worried about the perception of unfair advantage if this information leaked.
  3. Despite the claims of Team Sky and Wiggins denying the use of ketones, internal documents reveal a clear strategy to manage public relations around the use of this substance in British sports. The situation shows a grey area in sports nutrition and ethics.

The Clenbuterol Cloud hanging over British triathlon

39 implied HN points • 20 Feb 24
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Controversies Performance
  1. A British triathlete was found with clenbuterol, a drug often used for performance enhancement. This raises serious questions about doping in sports and how common it might be.
  2. In 2016, a British athlete tested positive for clenbuterol but was cleared due to claims of contaminated meat. This decision has been questioned since it's not as common as suggested.
  3. A recent case of another British triathlete using clenbuterol shows that the drug is accessible in the UK, which increases doubts about the integrity of doping regulations in the sport.

Town Square #1: Chinese swimmers 'seen' injecting themselves before Rio 2016

19 implied HN points • 01 May 24
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Regulations Controversies Olympics
  1. There are serious questions about the integrity of Chinese swimmers who tested positive for banned substances, especially since there are reports of them injecting themselves before past Olympics.
  2. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) insists these swimmers are innocent victims of contamination, but many people find this hard to believe given previous doping allegations against the Chinese swim team.
  3. Doping scandals in sports, like those involving the Chinese swimming team, show the ongoing struggle to maintain fair play and ethics in competition.

Spanish Tennis' Long Doping History

39 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Doping Tennis Athletics Competitions Health
  1. Spanish tennis has a long history of doping, starting from as early as 1959 when players used testosterone injections. This trend has continued with multiple doping cases over the years.
  2. Since 1996, there have been twelve doping cases involving Spanish players, with some achieving rankings in the top 100. This raises concerns about fairness in competition.
  3. The lack of transparency from tennis authorities regarding doping cases can hurt the reputation of clean athletes in Spain. Many believe that serious issues in the sport need more open discussion and accountability.

Sir Mo Farah's running partner filmed buying EPO in Kenya

39 implied HN points • 14 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Athletics Doping Training Performance Investigation
  1. Sir Mo Farah trained with a pacemaker who was later caught buying EPO, a performance-enhancing drug, in Kenya. This raises questions about his training environment.
  2. Farah has been linked to controversial figures in athletics, including a coach under investigation for doping violations. This could negatively impact his reputation in the sport.
  3. While Farah has never failed a drug test, the associations with doping-related individuals and suspicious activity concerning blood tests create a cloud of doubt around his career.

The past steroid allegations against McLaughlin, Felix, Mu's coach

19 implied HN points • 07 Jan 24
🎾 Sports Athletics Doping Coaching Olympics Controversy
  1. Coach Bob Kersee faced steroid allegations in the late 1980s, when an athlete claimed Kersee provided him with banned substances. Even though he denied these claims, they have lingered in discussions about his coaching.
  2. Despite his controversial past, Kersee has trained successful athletes like Sydney McLaughlin and Allyson Felix without significant doping scandals in their careers. His later coaching has been marked by clean performances.
  3. In recent discussions, other coaches have come under scrutiny for doping allegations, suggesting that anti-doping authorities may need to focus on them rather than Kersee, whose athletes have largely passed doping tests.

Up to 103 tennis players failed doping tests and escaped bans

19 implied HN points • 31 Dec 23
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Regulations Testing
  1. Many tennis players have failed drug tests but faced no penalties. Out of 156 players who tested positive from 2013 to 2019, around 103 didn’t receive any sanctions.
  2. The International Tennis Federation has reduced the testing for blood doping significantly since 2018. This might have allowed players to avoid detection during important tournaments.
  3. The rules around doping cases can be confusing, as some players can continue playing even after testing positive for certain drugs, leading to a lack of transparency about who is really being punished.

The Timeline: Team Sky and British Cycling – when success surpassed ethics

19 implied HN points • 17 Dec 23
🎾 Sports Athletics Cycling Doping Ethics Olympics
  1. Team Sky started as a clean cycling team, but they faced many challenges and made questionable choices on their way to winning major events like the Tour de France.
  2. They experienced controversies related to doping, including secret drug tests and hiring doctors with questionable backgrounds which raised ethical concerns.
  3. Despite achieving significant success at competitions, the team's actions led to scandals that complicated their reputation and the integrity of their victories.

Italy’s Clostebol doping crisis across tennis, football and the Olympics

1 HN point • 22 May 24
🎾 Sports Doping Athletics Football Tennis Olympics
  1. Clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, is being found in many Italian athletes across sports like tennis and football. This has raised concerns about doping practices in the country.
  2. Many athletes claim they accidentally ingested clostebol through creams or sprays, but warnings about its presence are clearly labeled on the products. This makes some people question the legitimacy of these claims.
  3. Doping doctors may be involved in promoting the use of clostebol as a way to avoid detection, similar to how testosterone is used. This raises suspicions about the ongoing doping culture in Italian sports.

Five swimming doping cases at the University of Texas

0 implied HN points • 24 Dec 23
🎾 Sports Doping Olympics Athletes Health
  1. Five swimmers from the University of Texas have tested positive for doping since 2017, raising concerns about anti-doping rules. This includes Madisyn Cox, who tested positive for a drug linked to a major scandal in Russian figure skating.
  2. The drug involved, trimetazidine, is banned as it can enhance performance. It's been a part of controversies in both Russian and American swimming, showing a pattern of doping cases in high-level competitions.
  3. There seems to be a difference in how doping cases are handled in the US versus Russia, with US athletes facing less scrutiny despite similar issues. This raises questions about fairness in the sports world.