The dark side of the Paralympics: cheating through “boosting”
With the start of the London 2012 Paralympic Games less than a week away I came across a disconcerting phenomenon I had never previously been aware of: "boosting". "Boosting" involves intentionally raising one's blood pressure to stimulate the body's energy and endurance, allowing those Paralympians who practice it to artificially enhance their levels of performance. In a survey completed in 2009, funded partly by the International Paralympic Committee ('IPC') and partly by the World Anti-Doping Agency ('WADA'), it was found that nearly a fifth of the 99 Paralympic athletes surveyed had "boosted", which I am sure you would agree is a worrying proportion. Indeed the real figure is thought to be closer to a third.
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- Tags: Anti-Doping | Boosting | International Paralympic Committee (IPC) | Paralympics | World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
Written by
Kevin Carpenter
Kevin is a advisor and member of the editorial board for LawInSport, having previously acted as editor.
Kevin specialises in integrity, regulatory, governance and disciplinary matters. His expertise and knowledge has led him to be engaged by major private and public bodies, including the IOC, FIFA, the Council of Europe, INTERPOL and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as making regular appearances internationally delivering presentations and commenting in the media on sports law issues.
His research and papers are published across a variety of forums, including having a blog on LawInSport.
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