Olympics, Summer: Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) refer to any substance used by athletes for ergogenic benefits. PED use in sports traces back to 100 AD when Roman gladiators used stimulants and hallucinogens to prevent fatigue during competitions. At the Olympic Games, the first known cases of PED use took place around the turn of the 20th century when marathon runner Thomas Hicks was provided with strychnine, due to its stimulant properties. As evidence of PED use of various types increased throughout the early 20th century, an increasing number of substances were placed on the banned substances lists of international sports organizations such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC). This resulted in a number of notable cases of violations that spurned further regulation and legislation efforts, as well as ...