The history of steroids and sports is believed to have begun in 1930s. It was the decade when “testosterone” was first synthesized. Testosterone was introduced into the sporting arena in the 1940's and 1950's. Since then, steroids are often used by weightlifters, bodybuilders, athletes, and other sports persons to amplify their performance levels, power, and stamina. Steroids and sports created kicked up a great row in the first half of the twentieth century.
The first reaction against steroids and sports came from the International Amateur Athletic Federation, now the International Association of Athletics Federations, which became the first international governing body of sport to ban doping or the use of steroids in sports in 1928. Aiming to disassociate steroids and sports, FIFA (soccer) and Union Cycliste Internationale (cycling) banned the use of steroids in 1966, and the International Olympic Committee joined them in 1967. The first tests for athletes were at the 1966 European Championships and two years later the IOC implemented their first drug tests at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
Anabolic steroids became highly prevalent during the 1970s, which further complicated the problem of steroids and sports. This knotty link of steroids and sports led to the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999. The agency works to test and detect steroids used in sports, and the detected steroids are added to the IOC's list of prohibited substances. There is long list of sports persons who have been tested positive for using steroids or prohibited substances.
