Sports have an intimate tandem history with performance-enhancing substances. Ancient Greek athletes are known to have used special diets and stimulating potions to fortify themselves. Early invitations to participate in the Tour-de-France stated that amphetamines were to be each partici­pant’s personal responsibility and not provided by the organizers. Tennis is widely known as “the white sport,” not only in reference to the strict Wimbledon dress code and race discrimination, but also synonymous with extensive cocaine use. Thomas Hicks won the marathon at the 1904 Olympics on a mix of raw egg, strychnine and brandy. The practice of enhancing performance through foreign substances or other artificial means is as old as competitive sport itself.
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