A Global History of Doping in Sport ─ Drugs, Policy, and Politics

From turn-of-the-century horseracing to the monolithic anti-doping attitudes now supported by sporting organizations, the development of anti-doping ideology has spread throughout modern sport. Yet heretofore few historians have explored the many ways that international sport has responded to doping. This book seeks to fill that gap by examining different aspects of sport’s global efforts to respond to athletes doping. By incorporating cultural, political, and feminist histories that examine international responses to doping, this special issue aims to better articulate the narrative of doping. The work starts with the first mention of doping in any sport. It examines not only the first efforts to ban doping but also the athletes who sought performance enhancers. Focusing on specific framing events, authors in this issue examine how history of doping and how it has indelibly marked the sporting landscape. The result is a work with both breadth and focus. From stories of Japanese swimmers to Italian runners to American jockeys, the work spans the range of doping history. At the same time, the authors remain focused around one single issue: the history of doping in sport.

This bookw as published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

John Gleaves is an assistant professor at California State University, Fullerton and the co-director of the International Network of Humanistic Doping Research. His research on doping examines the historical and ethical dimensions of performance-enhancement and the cultural conversation that surrounds the practice. He has authored numerous articles and book chapters exploring the socio-cultural issues related to doping and performance enhancing drugs in sports in refereed journals.

Thomas Hunt is an assistant professor of Kinesiology & Health Education at the University of Texas and the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports Assistant Director for Academic Affairs. He specializes in the political history of doping in sport as well as sport policy, law, and history. He is the author of many articles on doping and has recently published the book Drug Games: The International Olympic Committee and the Politics of Doping, 1960–2008, which examines the history of the International Olympic Committee’s reaction to doping.