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Modern sport is plagued by suspicions that many top athletes resort to drug-taking—doping—to enhance their performance, but this is not a new phenomenon. Its origins can be traced as far back as the ancient Olympics, where competitors would drink ‘magic’ potions or eat special foods to gain an edge over their rivals. The desire to win, motivated by economic incentives such as prizes and large sponsorship deals, or social pressures such as national gold medal expectations, ensures there is a constant market for drugs that might improve performance.

Today, there are as many different performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) as there are sports, and it’s a big job trying to keep track of them all. In 1999, an internationally independent organisation, the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA), was established. It works to coordinate the fight against doping in sport internationally, and is assisted in this task by organisations around the world such as the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and many others.

A wide range of banned drugs and ‘performance enhancing methods’ (such as blood doping) are registered by WADA, a list which is constantly updated as new drugs emerge. A substance can be considered for inclusion on the World Anti-Doping Code Prohibited List if it meets at least two of the following three criteria:

1. It is or potentially is performance-enhancing
2. It is or potentially is harmful to the athlete's health
3. It violates the spirit of sport.

WADA makes the final determination on whether a substance or method is included on the prohibited list.

Both the creation of these drugs and the methods used to detect them involve sophisticated science, with each side (the makers and the testers) constantly innovating to try and stay ahead of the game.

While cycling, athletics, weightlifting and swimming have been regularly associated with athletes using PEDs, no sport is immune. From archery to yachting and all sports in between, athletes have sought out drugs to improve their performance or hasten recovery from injury.

Since there’s always another big game, grand final, or even an Olympics around the corner, keep an eye out for more stories from our 10-part series on doping so you can familiarise yourself with the most common PEDs. What do they do? How are they taken and, most importantly, how are they detected?