In the recent past, some of our elite athletes have experienced a slowdown in their careers or demise of their aspirations to dominate the track.
The reason for this is known too well to stakeholders in the sports docket, doping.
According to the English dictionary, doping is the ‘administration of drugs to an athlete in order to inhibit or enhance sporting performance’.
Prolific athletes such as Jemima Sumgong have had their careers come to end due to doping allegations, while others like Asbel Kiprop are still grappling with the implications of being suspected of using performance boosters.
The common denominator in both cases of these two athletes and many others in the same situation is a substance called erythropoietin or EPO that was found to be in excess in their bloodstreams.
Which begs the question, what exactly is EPO? Well, EPO is a peptide hormone that is produced by the kidneys and released on the bone marrow to stimulate the production of red blood cells.
An increase in red blood cells increases the amounts of oxygen relayed to muscles, therefore, resulting in extra energy and abnormal delay in fatigue to an individual.
The hormone can also be administered to the body through injection or capsules. Since the 90s, athletes have been known to abuse the hormone often disguised as some of medication to gain competitive advantage.
According to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the only way to detect EPO is through performing a blood screen followed by a thorough urine test to detect recombinant erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.
Addiction to EPO use increases the risk of contracting deadly diseases such as stroke, cerebral and pulmonary embolism due to the rapid thickening of blood according to the WADA website.
The drug has been outlawed by WADA since the early 90s.