One of the most exhilarating and yet shameful moments in modern-day sports occurred during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, which encapsulates the 'highs and lows' of drug-use in sport. The showpiece event of Olympics' track and field, the 100-meter dash, was most eagerly awaited that year as Ben Johnson; the brash Canadian sprinter was to take on a legendary athlete-Carl Lewis of the US in the race. When the gun sounded for the start of the 100-meters final on September 24, 1988, 'Big' Ben shot out of the blocks like a human canon ball and completed the race in an astonishing world record of 9.79 seconds leaving Lewis almost a meter behind. The whole of Canada erupted in celebration; it was a moment to savor. Within the next 48 hours, however, the euphoria of a remarkable victory had dissolved into the ignominy of shame for Ben Johnson as he was stripped of his gold medal, having tested positive for using Stanozolol-a performance-enhancing steroid. This famous incident was by no means the first (or the last) time a sportsman had taken drugs for improving his performance; athletes have employed such tactics since times immemorial. This paper takes a look at the history of drug use in sports; discusses some of the commonly used performance enhancing drugs as well as their side-effects, and explains the anti-doping measures taken by the sports bodies to control the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports. .

             History of Drug Use in Sports.

             The history of drug use in sports is probably as old as sport itself. In ancient Greece for example, athletic competitors consumed extracts of mushrooms and plant seeds to enhance their performance and Olympic athletes have been recorded to ingest sheep's testicles as early as 776 BC to boost their Testosterone levels. (Francis) In the Roman period, when chariot races and gladiator fights were major sporting events, horses as well as gladiators were frequently 'doped' to run faster or fight more ferociously.