The History of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport – 776 BC-1959

Ever since the beginning of sport, competitors have strived to find ways to become better, faster, stronger, anything that will give them an edge over their opponent. There was much experiment with drugs at this time to figure out what combinations of drugs would work and what wouldn’t. It wasn’t until nearly 1930 when there was a rule made against doping in sports. It was not out of the ordinary during this time that individuals such as soldiers take drugs to combat fatigue, though eventually athletes began taking the same drugs since there were minimal rules on doping during this time.

776 BC – 393 BC

The Ancient Greeks used performance enhancing drugs known as a viscous opium juice. Most of what we would considering nowadays as cheating was perfectly acceptable during these times, as far as doping went.

100 AD

Roman gladiators used stimulants and hallucinogens to prevent fatigue and injury. These gladiators would ingest hallucinogens and stimulants such as strychnine which would prevent fatigue and injury and increased the intensity of the fight, which made for a good show.

Late 19^th Century

French cyclist and lacrosse players drank wine and coca leaves to fight off fatigue and hunger. These modern applications of drug use in sport began around this time. Coca and cocaine were extremely popular because they delayed the sense of fatigue and hunger brought on by prolong exertion.

1904-1920

Performance enhancing drugs were used in the modern Olympic Games. Mixtures of strychnine, heroin, cocaine, and caffeine were being used widely by athletes during this time, until heroin and cocaine became only available by prescription.  

1928

The first rule against doping in sports was made by the International Association of Athletics Federation which was the first of its kind to prohibit doping by athletes.

1940-1945

Nazis tested steroids on prisoners and Hitler. Some scientist associated the characteristics that Hitler exhibited at the end of his life such as mania, paranoid psychoses, overly aggressive and violent behavior, depression and being suicidal to be due to his heavy steroid use. Testosterone was also used by the German soldiers to promote aggressiveness and physical strength.

American, British, German, and Japanese armed forces began distributing amphetamines to their soldiers during WWII. Amphetamines helped to counteract fatigue and heighten endurance.

1950s

Athletes begin taking amphetamines used by soldiers in WWII. Amphetamines were the first effective performance enhancing drug, so athletes began taking them to minimize the uncomfortable sensations of fatigue.

The FDA approved its first anabolic steroid for sale in the US. Dr. Zieglar created an anabolic steroid known as Dianabol, similar to testosterone. Though, after seeing the abuse of the drugs by athletes, Dr. Zieglar stated that he wished he had never created it.