Some countries and organisations appear to be half-hearted about detecting and pursuing drug cheats among their sports people, so some Australian athletes feel at a disadvantage when competing overseas. Finally, it is becoming obvious that the tightening of doping policies to prevent legal challenges is just as important as the development of new testing and analytical procedures. The cases of Australian cyclist Martin Vinnicombe, German sprinter Katrina Krabbe and American 400m runner Butch Reynolds have demonstrated that positive drug tests can signal the beginning of lengthy legal battles over their interpretation and status. Unfortunately, litigation is a resource-intensive process and one which will increasingly become a problem for sporting organisations and testing agencies. As a matter of urgency, processes must be implemented which minimise the possibility of litigation as a result of positive drug tests and other doping practices.
Many challenges still remain in the drugs in sport area.
While success is achieved in one area, new issues and challenges emerge in another. Answers to self-test questions 1.