Anti-Doping

The risks and negative consequences of doping are diverse and can have serious and lasting impacts on an athlete’s life. Apart from the official sanctions, which may end an athlete's promising career and the related financial losses, there are also the effects on the physical and mental health as well as the social situation, often regardless of whether the athlete is actually caught for their anti-doping rule violation.

Consequences on physical- and mental health:

Some substances that are banned for athletes are not only found in doping agents but also drugs prescribed by doctors for certain illnesses. Drugs are developed to cure diseases, not for the means of enhancing performance. The misuse of medication can have serious health consequences. They can be drastic and may even lead to premature death.

For example, doping agents such as anabolic steroids increase the risk of heart attack and cancer. In women, the use of anabolic steroids can lead to masculinization: Body hair increases, and the voice becomes deeper. In men, the opposite effect can occur: The breasts take on female forms and the testicles shrink. All of these changes no longer recede, which can also cause severe psychological stress for the athlete.

Consequences on the sporting career and the social situation:

Anyone who does doping must expect that respect and esteem for the performance as well as the person themselves are lost, as results and victories are ultimately not just the result of sporting performance but also of banned substances. The belief in sport and its value system, which is of great importance to fans and the public, also suffers as a result.

Those who have doped and are banned are often no longer allowed to use the training facility and lose many valuable social contacts as they can no longer train with their team. Without a concrete goal and the motivation of competition, banned athletes often lack the strength to train hard and quickly lose touch with the international elite.

Sanctions and consequences on financial security:

The sanctions that an athlete has to expect depend on the type of doping violation. The decisive factors here are which substance or method was detected, whether the substance was knowingly or unknowingly introduced into the body, whether it was taken to enhance performance, and whether it may even be a repeat offense. Depending on the answers to these questions, sanctions can range from a warning to a lifetime ban for repeated doping violations. A confession is also considered in the case law. Please note that refusal to undergo a doping test is also considered an anti-doping rule violation and is sanctioned accordingly.

A detected anti-doping rule violation can lead to high financial losses. Prize money and, if applicable, subsidies to supporting associations must be repaid, and sponsorship contracts are terminated. In the worst case, not only the streams of income are lost, but athletes are facing a situation in which debts pile up.

The doping controls of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games will be conducted in accordance with the Prohibited List 2025. It identifies those substances and methods that are prohibited and is updated annually following an extensive consultation process facilitated by WADA.

Athletes must be careful about which medication they use.

Many medications include substances that are prohibited. Athletes are hence advised to check the status of the medication they are taking or intend to take. For example, by searching through the website of the Global Drug Reference Online (Global DRO). The Global DRO provides information about the prohibited status of specific medications based on the current Prohibited List of WADA. The NADA database - NADAmed – may also be used for this purpose and is especially suitable for medications that are frequently prescribed or requested in Germany and are approved as medicines or registered as homeopathic medicines. The list is designed to provide accessible and quick information on the doping relevance of medication.

You may be doping too, without even knowing it.

Contrary to medication, dietary supplements do not undergo any strict approval procedure concerning manufacturing or labelling, which makes it difficult for athletes to identify potential doping traps. Resources such as the Cologne List® (available in English, German, and Spanish) or the Informed Sport program approach this problem, allowing athletes and other persons to cross-check if certain batches of a product have been tested and if products from a brand are coming from manufacturers who are careful in their production in general. However, it must be noted that even in these cases, doping contamination can still occur due to unclean raw materials or during the manufacturing process. A 100% safety of dietary supplements cannot be guaranteed but only a minimization of the doping risk.

Help protect athletes and the integrity of sport. Every information can be crucial to uncover doping-related misconduct and structures, to clear up misunderstandings, and ultimately to create a clean and fair playing field for all.

WADA, NADA, and other Anti-Doping Organizations offer the possibility to inform them about potential antidoping rule violations. Whether you decide to remain anonymous or share your contact details, your information will be treated strictly confidential.

Germany has an anti-doping law, also known as the "Anti-Doping Act - AnitDopG". This law was enacted in December 2015 and came into force on January 1, 2016. The Anti-Doping Act aims to combat the use of doping substances and doping methods in sport in order to protect the health of athletes, to ensure fairness and equal chances in sport competitions, and to thereby preserve the integrity of sport.

These legal provisions criminalize certain doping-related activities including manufacturing, trafficking, dispensing or otherwise placing it on the market, selling, or prescribing banned substances, as well as the administration or application of banned substances and methods to another person for the purpose of doping in sport. Also, self-doping is criminalized when connected to organized sport. Within the meaning of this provision, a competition of organized sport is any sporting event that is (a) organized by, on behalf of, or with the approval of a national or international sport organization (such as FISU), and (b) requires compliance with rules adopted by a national or international sport organization which are binding upon its member organizations.

Those found guilty of doping-related offenses can face significant penalties, including fines and imprisonment. The severity of the penalties depends on the nature of the offense and the individual's role in the doping scheme. In the case of self-doping, it is also relevant whether the athlete is subject to Out-of-Competition testing as a member of a testing pool in the framework of the doping control system or directly or indirectly generates significant revenue from the sporting activity, as only in these cases a legal punishment is applicable.

The full “Act against doping in sport” can be found here: German / English

Apart from the testing agencies and anti-doping organizations, the athletes themselves, as well as their environments play a crucial role in the fight against doping – it is a real team effort. Various websites offer educational material and courses specific to athletes, coaches, parents, medical professionals, and other target groups.

If you would like to get some general information on the topic of anti-doping, visit the websites of the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) and the National Anti Doping Agency of Germany (NADA), the latter offered in both English and German. Also, you may want to have a closer look at WADA’s Anti-Doping Education and Learning Platform (ADEL) for a wide range of interactive courses and resources or the education platform of NADA – TOGETHER AGAINST DOPING (available in German only).

A doping test consists of several steps:

Athletes are responsible for all substances in their bodies. This is called the principle of strict liability. It is therefore advisable to consult a doctor before taking medication and to use tools provided by anti-doping organizations such as the NADA App.

In the event of a positive test, the athlete is usually provisionally suspended first. A disciplinary procedure then decides on the final consequences, which can range from a warning to a ban of several years.