Performance-Enhancing Drugs and Sports: History

Performance-enhancing drugs usage, while illegal historically and in the present in any country and in any sports, dates back to the ancient Olympics. Recorded evidence indicates that the use of drugs to enhance performance in sports has undeniably happened since the period of the original Olympic Games from 776 to 393 Humans from time immemorial have engaged in the use of performance-enhancing drugs in athletic competition to gain every practicable advantage against their adversaries. In ancient Greece, early Olympians used extracts of mushrooms and plant seeds and experimented with herbal medications in an effort to enhance their athletic performance. They also drank wine potions; used hallucinogens; ate animal hearts, sheep testicles, or grounded horse hooves; and gorged themselves on meat in search of potency. ...