Doping

2023 Outstanding Academic Title * Choice *Henning and Dimeo, both academics in the relatively novel discipline of sports studies, provide a broad overview of how doping has developed in elite sport, referencing all the most high-profile offenders … They show how governing bodies were slow to react to the use of chemical compounds in sport, given that, in the West, they were seen as a potentially helpful solution to various physical and psychiatric problems. – Michael Beloff * TLS *This is a very readable global overview and updating of doping and anti-doping in amateur and professional sport: testing, scandals, and suggestions for improvement … The important message is that athletes should be respected and empowered to share their views, participate in collective bargaining and policy making, and receive legal and financial aid. In terms of testing, less invasive methods – i.e., hair analysis – should be considered … All told, this is a must-read. Essential. * Choice *A highly accessible and thoroughly researched historical account of doping and anti-doping in elite sport. Doping: A Sporting History demonstrates why the “cops and robbers” account of doping, in which seemingly morally justified anti-doping crusaders are pitted against athletic “cheats”, is both false and misleading. The authors make recommendations for genuine reforms that consider the lives of the most important members of elite sport – the athletes themselves. * Ian Ritchie, author (with Rob Beamish) of ‘Fastest, Highest, Strongest: A Critique of High-Performance Sport’ *

April Henning is a lecturer in sport studies at the University of Stirling. She is coauthor of Performance Cultures and Doped Bodies: Challenging Categories, Gender Norms, and Policy Responses.

Paul Dimeo is associate professor in sport studies at the University of Stirling. His books include A History of Drug Use in Sport, 1876-1976 and The Anti-Doping Crisis in Sport.