The Drug Testing Project in International Sports: Dilemmas in an Expanding Regulatory Regime

Over the past two decades testing for performance enhancing drugs has become central to the legitimacy of international sport. A constant battle exists between athletes and coaches seeking to enhance performance at almost any cost and sporting authorities that deem the use of performance enhancing drugs illegal. As more methods of enhancement are discovered, the list of banned substances continues to grow, making enforcement more complex. Recently various sporting bodies, realizing that competition testing is ineffective in detecting the most commonly used drugs, have begun monitoring elite athletes year round and testing them around the world on short notice.

For the sports drug testing project to succeed, it will have to achieve a level of international cooperation and institution-building far beyond that which has so far been accomplished. This Article addresses some of the obstacles to an expanding international regulatory regime.