Dope-tainted athletes try everything to overcome anything that comes on their way in pursuit for glory. This shortcut attitude of few athletes is becoming fatal and lethal, warns sports medicine expert Dr Mahmoud Shehabullah.
The Bangladeshi doctor had witnessed eight Summer Olympic Games (1988 Seoul to 2016 Rio Brazil) and has rich experience related to sports medicine and athletes.
Shehabullah was the Senior Sports Medicine Physician at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth in an eventful career spanning 40 years.
He had also attended three World Cup hockey events, six Asian Games and three Arab Games in his event-filled sports medicine career.
Dr Mahmoud recalled a famous incident related to doping from Seoul Olympics.
“I was just few metres away from the track during men’s 100m final in 1988 Seoul Games.”
“Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and other top athletes were ready for the race.
“Ben was looking scary with red eyes with huge muscles and in no time he won gold on that day. But due to the use of Stanzolol his medal was stripped off from him on the third day."
Dr Mahmoud summarises doping as cheating one’s ability to enhance by using prohibited substances illegally either its drugs or blood transfusion or herbs etc.
“Many elite athletes who were Olympic medal winners have fell victims to doping and some collapsed on the podium before getting their medal.
First reported drug related death was in 1896 when an English cyclist died of overdose of drug.
Misuse of Amphetamine by a Danish cyclist Curt Jensen in 1960 Rome Olympics was also being noticed.
British cyclist Tommy Simson died in front of huge audience in 1967 Tour de France and the story goes on.
Reasons for doping are several, but to highlight some:
Ignorance, lack of education, lack of awareness, acts of unethical coaches, trainers as well as friends.
The term doping was derived from African ‘dop’, a kind of liquor used by certain tribes as a stimulant.
Many elite athletes are in this trap but it’s not so easy to bypass doping control of World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada).
The veteran sports enthusiast concludes: “So respect the normal physiology of your body through the blend of talent training religiously in your field of sports. But not with the prohibited drugs.”
Using drugs in sports has many detrimental hazards for one's health, eventually the end of one's career and end of life.
So doping is the ultimate killer of athletes in sports.
So PLAY TRUE & ‘SAY NO TO DRUGS’.
Why the athletes take drugs?
A determination to do anything to win medals.
Expecting community attitude.
False belief their competitors also taking drugs.
Ignorance or malingering of Ignorance.
Many trainers and unqualified unethical medical staff also influencing the athletes to take prohibited substances in competitions.
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