Amateur athletes in bodybuilding, trail running, Sunday football … When amateur sports are not spared from doping

DÉCRYPTAGE – An Inserm report shows that doping is no longer limited to high-level sports. Amateur athletes also use doping products, sometimes without their knowledge.

While the Enhanced Games, those augmented games where doping is authorized, are scheduled to take place next month in Las Vegas, Inserm published on April 24th a collective expertise on “doping and doping practices in the sports environment”. Commissioned by the Ministry of Sports and unique in its scope, this report analyzes over 3,800 scientific articles and documents from the past decade. Twelve experts explored the extent of the phenomenon among high-level athletes, as well as among amateur athletes, who are not immune to these practices.

The first observation is the difficulty in measuring the extent of the phenomenon. In professionals, results come mainly from “antidoping controls carried out by laboratories accredited by WADA” (World Anti-Doping Agency), which introduces significant biases: “There are sports known for conducting a lot of controls, like athletics or cycling. Others, like team sports… (text continues)