Allow me to state the following: As long as professional sports exist, and as long as there are competitive athletes, they will use every means to improve their performance. “Every means” includes prohibited substances. Today, we will talk about one such substance – in my opinion, it is the perfect doping agent.
You might be surprised, but we are going to discuss the well-known testosterone – in our case, synthetic. It is not only incredibly effective – it can enhance nearly any athletic performance – but it also poses challenges in detecting its use.
Testosterone is a natural hormone, and its metabolites are always present in urine. Externally administered testosterone is indistinguishable from the body’s natural testosterone, and its metabolites are exactly the same – their detection in a doping test does not answer whether the athlete has used synthetic testosterone.
Blood samples, which could easily determine testosterone levels, cannot be taken from athletes; only urine tests are available. And Manfred Donicke – a man who has devoted himself to fighting doping in sports like few others – suggested comparing the levels of testosterone and epitestosterone metabolites.