Ahead of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, we discussed the ethical, social and legal implications of performance enhancement in sport.

Optimising sporting achievement through training and diet is an accepted part of athletic activity whereas performance enhancing drugs like steroids and EPO are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. If sport is about pushing the limits of human potential, are drugs an inescapable and integral part of athletics? Or do performance enhancing drugs devalue sporting achievement and deprive athletes of a level playing field? 

How widespread is doping in professional sports and what impact does this have on amateur athletes and young sportspeople? What are the long term effects of doping on athletes’ physical and mental wellbeing? 

We discussed the issues with our expert speakers including Professor Andy Miah, University of Salford, Nicole Sapstead, UK Anti-Doping, and Professor Chris Cooper, University of Essex. The event was chaired by Owen Gibson (the Guardian).

Read our blog on the history of doping here or watch the video of the event:

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