{"id":1164462,"date":"2020-11-02T21:40:46","date_gmt":"2020-11-03T02:40:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=1164462"},"modified":"2021-08-02T14:00:06","modified_gmt":"2021-08-02T18:00:06","slug":"doping-tests-are-back-here-is-what-must-happen-to-save-professional-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/doping-tests-are-back-here-is-what-must-happen-to-save-professional-sports\/","title":{"rendered":"Doping Tests are Back, here is What Must Happen to Save Professional Sports."},"content":{"rendered":"
A single dose of performance-enhancing drugs could last in the system of an athlete for a decade, giving them an unfair advantage over others. In the wake of COVID 19, testing has slowed. The pandemic made the collection of urine and blood samples impractical, infeasible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A survey by the US Anti-doping Agency shows that the number of sportspeople using banned substances increased during the pandemic when there was no testing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In early 2019, anti-doping agencies tested over 231 000 urine and blood samples from athletes. The pandemic has majorly weakened that rigor. By September, only 111,000 samples had been collected and tested. In cities with stringent lockdown measures, only a few hundred samples have been collected so far in the year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The effects of the pandemic have provided a ripe opportunity for doping in manners that may ruin the integrity of professional sports for many years.<\/span><\/p>\nThe room to cheat\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n