Would a coach know if an athlete was doping?
We have all seen the disappointing news that a professional triathlete this week has been sanctioned for the use of performance-enhancing drugs. This is clearly to the sport’s detriment, but perhaps also it is a sign of progress.
As an athlete myself it is always gutting to see the value of sport undermined. The value of sport is one of challenge and reward for the individuals who take on the battle to grow and personally develop themselves. It makes me leap back to one of my favourite pieces of writing or speeches, “The Man in the Arena” by Theodore Roosevelt
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither knows victory nor defeat.”
As a coach it begs the question, would I know? If an athlete I was working with was cheating through the use of drugs on the world anti-doping list would I know, how would I know?
The normal process for catching drug cheats is to complete blood or urine tests or track abnormal trends in biological passports. So the obvious area to look at as a coach would be any blood testing, such as Forth Edge. Their triathlon test includes some potentially useful markers, which may give some hint at blood doping. These are red blood cell count, hemoglobin levels and ferritin. However, they miss some markers that might lead to stronger conclusions. In this piece of research from 2006 (Robinson et al.), EPO and blood doping tests are discussed and ultimately one of the conclusions is that individual reference values are key. The exact combination of numbers that would start to raise red flags contains complex physiological understanding, this stretches the experts developing the tests.
Testing these specific markers is expensive and requires expert equipment and laboratory practices, which is one of the reasons why testing is not wholesale. It is for this reason that it seems unlikely that a coach would have sight of a clear red flag. Note there is a vast difference between lancet prick tests for blood lactate levels using a £400-£500 handheld device and the tests that are discussed in this research from as far back as 2010 (Tsitsimpikou et al.) “the method of detecting EPO approved for doping control is an isoelectric-focusing, double-blotting, chemiluminescence assay based on charge differences between isoforms of rhEPOs and endogenous EPO in urine”, rhEPO being recombinant EPO that has been artificially injected rather than naturally produced EPO.
I can hear the question, ‘but what if their FTP etc improves?’. Zones and more precisely the physiological condition can change daily, if you don’t sleep well or don’t eat enough or change between bikes or do an effort indoors vs’ outdoors, hotter or colder these can all have a greater than 5% impact on your performance day to day. Zones are just an overlay of physiology. As above you need highly specific numbers to flag an exact reason and without those numbers why on earth would a coach be looking for them?
Furthermore, the level of experience of the athlete or previous coaching would have an impact. Less experienced athletes may make jumps in performance simply due to learning, this learning and improvement are likely to be multifaceted. All of the following may contribute to huge progress; technique, experience, practice, nutrition, sleep and bike fit as well as improved understanding.
If the evidence to spot something physical is tricky, that leaves us with one more area and that is behaviour. This is much more subtle, but within age group coaching I feel much more likely to raise red flags. Let's look at some possible contributing factors;
> An athlete's performance improves drastically after a plateau has occurred when no reasonable explanation for improvements is apparent
> An athlete seems able to train and improve without rest and recovery
> An athlete is coy about these improvements or doesn’t perhaps seem that pleased
> An athlete seems overconfident
> An athlete seems nervous
* All of the above need to be compared with their normal behaviour
> Dismissive or odd attitude to conversations around doping and testing
> In combination with the above, an athlete is financially capable of doping
All of these behaviours could be indicative of nefarious activity, but they could equally be a part of a much more complex individual and/or their environment. Complexities that even a coach may be unaware of. To conclude from the factors above and then act to question a coachee about their behaviour is a stretch at best. In all likelihood when working remotely with an athlete, it may be very tricky to ‘know’ the athlete well enough to identify changes in behavioural patterns. This would be particularly tricky so during the early stages of working with an athlete, and even begs the question, “have they been doping before working with you as a coach”, therefore, making it nye on impossible to spot the difference.
To catch these behaviours you would need to seriously mistrust your athlete and if that were the case, why would you be working with them? What would it say of you as a coach if you were to believe an athlete that you work with has improved, but your first instinct is to question their honesty? You may certainly question why, but in all reality, it is likely you will simply think that the training is working.
Would a coach know that an athlete they are working with is doping? it seems unlikely unless they were directly and knowingly involved in the decision to, and the act of, cheating. If not involved it seems that all the information, both data and observed, wouldn’t clearly indicate or even point towards a doper or not a doper. It would be a multifactorial (and probably gut) instinct that would lead to bigger questions. How could you not know as a coach may be a question, but how could you know for certain is a much more pertinent question. This is a question that the world and national anti-doping organisations try to answer every day. As coaches, it is not our job to answer that question, but it is part of our job to ensure that athletes understand all rules, the rules around banned substances and all other rules as well.
As part of that responsibility below is a useful signposting to need-to-know information. The 100% ME program is a values-based education program for athletes, please see the links below to download the app as well as additional links referenced in the app itself.
100% ME App - UKAD (GooglePlay)
Global Dro Website for checking the legality of medication
Informed-Sport Website - supplement/nutrition check
Alan has worked with Tri Training Harder since 2014. During this time working with a wide spectrum of athletes from beginner, to youth and junior elite athletes through to 70.3 and Ironman AG winners and Ironman Kona Qualifiers.
An active Triathlon coach since 2007 Alan has been fortunate enough to work with athletes, peers and support staff who have continutally challenged him to evolve and develop. Building on a solid foundation in swimming teaching, Alan has specifically developed swimming coaching experience having worked in High Performance Swimming environments. Alan's other passion is all things fast on a bicycle!
Since 2015 Alan has worked in conjunction with the other Tri Training Harder Coaches to significantly develop collective coaching practice both on camp and online.
Visit Alan's
Coach profile
We’re here to help
Tri Training Harder are one of the leading Triathlon coaching providers in the UK, using our wealth of experience to unite scientific and technological research with already well-established and successful best practices, to create a formula for triathlon and endurance coaching that works.
The result is an honest, dynamic, yet simple new way of constructing an athlete’s training to allow them to reach their potential.
If you’re planning your next season, just starting out in the sport or are looking for extra guidance at the very top end of the field, we are here to help, and our coaches would be delighted to hear from you. You can contact us via the website, and one of the team will be in touch.