The challenge of regulating doping and non-doping ‘performance-enhancing strategies’ in elite sports

From the use of polyurethane swimsuits to carbon fibre-plated shoes for road racing, the term ‘techno-doping’ has been commonly used in categorising the use of technology as ‘strategies’ for performance enhancement in sports. There are various types of ‘strategies’ which are regularly (and increasingly) used by athletes to enhance their performance, especially in elite sports, such as the use of actual substances, methods of administering substances, and other modes of ‘strategies’ which have the effect of enhancing the performance of the athletes. However, it is curious that at present, only few ‘Performance-Enhancing Strategies’ (‘PESs’) are regulated, such as the use of Performance-Enhancing Drugs and methods (‘PEDs’) under the World Anti-Doping Agency (‘WADA’) Code. There are other PESs which are wholly unregulated, such as the use of nutrition and haematology, environmental factors, physiology testing opportunities, and sports equipment and technology [hereinafter known as Non-Doping Performance-Enhancing Strategies (‘NDPESs’)]. This paper discusses the unequal treatment between the regulation of PEDs and NDPESs in elite sports, and will conclude that steps ought to be taken in order to harmonise the treatment and regulation of all PESs in elite sports.