Fighting against doping a constant battle

Elite sports and doping have long been deeply interlinked. Reaching an elite level in sports requires a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication and focus. By definition, few succeed, but those who do may enjoy great personal and financial rewards. Using performance-enhancing substances can seem like an easy way to boost one's chances of reaching - or remaining at - that top level.

Doping in sports has most likely been going on for centuries. But the successful isolation of androgenic anabolic steroids brought a surge in the practice in the 1930s. The effects on performance can be seen in the extraordinary results of East German athletes in the 1970s and 1980s, some of whose records have yet to be broken. But the drawbacks of anabolic steroids were no less obvious: those same athletes often experienced infertility, cardiovascular problems, tumors and other adverse effects.

After a doping test for these steroids became mandatory in 1975, numerous athletes have been caught and sanctioned. Yet these substances remain the most commonly abused in elite sports.