Micro-dosing: how athletes are outsmarting anti-doping tests
For WADA and the AIU, catching cheaters is only becoming more difficult
In 2024, there were reportedly 389 doping cases in athletics. Despite all efforts by WADA and the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), catching cheaters is only getting more difficult, with athletes and coaches using new and increasingly sophisticated techniques for cheating. The prime example? Micro-dosing.
What is micro-dosing?
Micro-dosing involves taking substances in extremely small doses to avoid detection while still getting a performance benefit. A study from 2024 determined that injecting nine IU per kilogram of body weight of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) three times weekly over four weeks can boost endurance by between four and six per cent. That’s a big jump for such a tiny dose–less than a fraction of a vitamin D pill.
According to the Australian Academy of Science, the most popular PEDs taken via micro-dosing methods are:
- Erythropoietin (EPO)–increases the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream, thus boosting the among of oxygen carried to the muscles.
- Human growth hormone (HGH)–increases the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream, while improving heart function and energy availability, and increasing muscle mass.
- Anabolic steroids–increase muscle tissue.
Other popular PEDs include stimulants, diuretics and beta-blockers.
How athletes are staying under the radar
“The substances used by top-level athletes now are only detectable for a short window of time after they’ve taken it,” said AIU head Brett Clothier. “It’s as little as six hours for human growth hormone.” In an effort to combat this, the AIU requires precise, up-to-date whereabouts information so out-of-competition testing can occur at any time and without notice.
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A whereabouts failure is warranted by an athlete’s failure to submit their whereabouts by the established deadline, or a failure to an updated or complete location or adequate instructions to enable a doping control officer to carry out testing. For example, an athlete must update their location if going on vacation. Missing a test at the established location during the allotted 60-minute time frame also constitutes a whereabouts failure.
Three combined instances of whereabouts failures in a 12-month period amounts to an anti-doping rule violation.
So, why are athletes still doping?
A 2020 study estimated that the prevalence of doping in endurance athletes is 15 to 18 per cent–but that’s only counting the athletes who have been caught. Whether obtaining substances through the black market or complicit medical professionals, PED use continues to rise, raising the bar for elite performance.
Even anabolic steroids have become “normal” among recreational lifters and gym-goers. As long as some athletes continue getting away with it, others will feel compelled to follow suit just to stay competitive.
Global doping scandals
In 2015, the Russian Athletics Federation was banned from competing in World Athletics events due to multiple doping violations. In 2017, Russia was suspended from the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee for a state-sponsored, widespread doping program involving more than 1,000 athletes. In September, Russia lost its final track medal from London 2012 for yet another anti-doping violation.
While Russia’s doping scandal was state-driven, in Kenya, a different but equally troubling narrative emerged. Many athletes implicated in the ongoing Athletics Kenya (AK) doping crisis come from poverty. Often, they are connected with coaches and doctors who not only encourage doping, but actively supply PEDs–presenting it as the only viable route to financial success through running.
Though AK is not barred from competing, the federation remains under scrutiny due to the volume of athletes caught for doping violations. In response, AK has been ramping up education on anti-doping rules and implementing stronger measures to detect and deter violations.
The rise of the steroid Olympics
Meanwhile, some are embracing a future where doping is not only accepted, but promoted. Influential figures like Donald Trump Jr. have used their platforms to endorse events like the Enhanced Games–competitions where athletes are permitted (and encouraged) to “use legally-available performance-enhancing drugs.” The event has already been dubbed the “steroid Olympics.”
Are the detection systems really working?
Athlete Biological Passports (ABPs) were introduced in 2009 to monitor biological markers over time and detect blood manipulations–rather than trying to detect the doping substance itself. But in 2015, Mark Daly of BBC completed a 14-week experiment, attempting to dope with EPO–and get away with it. The cyclist micro-dosed with EPO for seven weeks, running his blood test results through the ABP software to see if he would pass. He saw a significant boost in athletic performance, and during the final week, saw a seven per cent increase on his cycling VO2 max test.
And when he submitted his 14 weeks of drug tests–despite his massive jump in fitness in less than two months–he passed. The traces of blood manipulations were not enough to flag him. “There is no evidence that you have injected yourself with EPO,” said Carsten Lundby–an expert on the effects of drugs such as EPO. “If you were an athlete, you would have gotten away with it.”
The bottom line
Anti-doping agencies are fighting a war against the evolving mechanisms of doping. They aren’t just aiming to level out the playing field–they’re trying to protect athletes from long-term health risks. But with the right timing and these advanced micro-dosing techniques, getting away with it seems more possible than ever.
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