Doping Scandals That Influenced Everything

Athletes have long tried to outwit nature to improve their performance. However, these attempts often turn out to be a complete failure. We’ll go over the most notorious examples of such failures and show you the way to fair play via SportPesa login.

Brief History of Doping in Sport

The use of tricks in sports is as old as time. Or, more accurately, as old as the sport itself. Since the ancient period, people have been striving to become stronger and more rigid than their opponents.

At that time, natural remedies such as plants, mushrooms, and animal extracts were used as stimulants. By researching various substances, ancient medical practitioners created doping mixtures that enhanced physical abilities.

Things started to change dramatically with the development of medicine and pharmacology. From caffeine, opiates, and alcohol utilized in the 19th century, the sports industry moved to anabolic steroids in the 20th century.

Doping cases grew common, particularly in major competitions such as the Olympic Games, and sometimes resulted in athletes’ deaths. It couldn’t help but lead to bans and establishment of agencies controlling doping in sports.

The most prominent international organization advocating doping-free sport is the World Anti-Doping Agency or WADA, founded in 1999.

Most Devastating Doping Scandals 

Actually, and unfortunately, there are plenty of scandalous cases of doping in global sports. Despite considerable risks to their careers and reputations, athletes take performance-enhancing drugs to gain an edge in competition. 

We’ll highlight a few stories in which the desire to outplay everyone became an epic fail. 

Lance Armstrong

Cycling legend, Tour de France icon, and one of American sports’ biggest disappointments, meet Lance Armstrong. His doping was concealed for years until he was formally charged in 2012. 

He was stripped of all his titles, including an Olympic bronze medal. He lost tens of millions of dollars, but most importantly, the faith of his fans. After a long denial, he found the strength to confess and repent in 2013.

Marion Jones

Things got even worse for our next anti-hero. In addition to forfeiting her awards, she also received a prison sentence. The U.S. track and field star Marion Jones was caught in the vortex of a massive doping scandal.

Jones denied using banned drugs in her testimony in 2003. Only four years later, she admitted to steroid use supplied by the infamous BALCO laboratory. In 2008, Marion served her complete six-month sentence for perjury. 

East Germany 

Well, yes, it’s not just individual athletes. It’s entire nations. Doping can be implemented and enforced at the state level. The first such case in history occurred in the German Democratic Republic, a now-defunct country.

The doping campaign was massive and involuntary. Nine thousand or more athletes were forced to take steroids; some didn’t even know they were being doped. Thousands suffered irreparable health harm, and a trial wasn’t held until after the Berlin Wall fell.

Russian National Team

Another flagrant case involving a state-supported doping operation is Russia. The scandal erupted after the 2014 Winter Olympics the country hosted. WADA launched an investigation confirming that foul play took place at the Games. 

The scheme comprised tampering with athletes’ doping samples, thereby covering up the use of performance-enhancing substances. As a result, Russia was barred from participating in major international sporting events.   

Mark Otieno Odhiambo

Stellar sprinter and Kenyan championship winner Mark Otieno was suspended from the 2021 Olympics. The athlete failed his drug test. What adds drama to the story is that the test results came out when he was already preparing to run his qualifying heat.

Summer 2023 saw the end of Otieno’s two-year prohibition. All in all, you could call it a story with a happy ending. Mark withstood the punishment and got a second chance to demonstrate his outstanding abilities without resorting to banned stimulants.       

What to Expect in the Future?

A doping-free future looks more like a utopia. Science will continue to evolve, creating more effective and harder to detect substances.

Sports has long been a very lucrative business. So there will always be those who wish to win at all costs to get whopping prize money, sponsorship contracts, and prestige worldwide. Thus, fair play is severely jeopardized, not to mention people’s health and lives.

However, doping has and will have fierce opponents fighting performance-improving drugs nationally and internationally. More and more states are joining this struggle.

In 2021, Kenya’s government overwhelmingly voted to enact the anti-doping law, which allowed the country to abide by the World 2021 anti-doping standards.  

Sports Betting Without Cheating

Prohibited practices are standard not only in the sports industry but also in betting. That’s why it’s paramount to bet with a trustworthy bookmaker. Kenya has enough of them, and SportPesa is a vivid example. 

The bookie provides a broad selection of sports events with excellent odds, fast and secure payouts, and complete data protection. The way to fair play on the gambling platform is through registration and login, a sequence of simple actions.   

Hit the Website

Go to the official site of SportPesa Kenya, navigate to the registration tab in the top right corner, and click it to open an online form.

Input Your Data

Click the “LET’S GET STARTED” button and complete the form with your mobile phone number and password.

Get Your Code

Tick the box to accept the T&C and policy, confirm your legal age, request a registration code, and key it in the dedicated field.

Start to Gamble

Click on “COMPLETE” and then on “START PLAYING.” After that, you will be redirected to the website’s home page.

Stay Logged In

You must be signed in whatever action you take—depositing, betting, or withdrawing. For this, enter your phone number and password and click on “LOGIN.”    

Final Thoughts

Faster, Higher, Stronger. This is what the Olympic motto calls for. And, of course, it has nothing to do with the use of doping, although with it, it will be much easier to fulfill this call. But true sports and betting devotees will always stand for fair competition no matter what.