Abstract

As outlined, the IOC has shown a long-standing interest in the problem of doping within the Olympic Movement. As early as 1937 a Commission was set up to conduct research on the matter. However, not only did it take until the death of cyclist Knud Jensen for the IOC to act more rigorously, it would take a further 35 years until standardized doping controls were introduced at the Olympic Games in Munich in 1972. The wide-ranging effect of the newly adopted doping protocol and its implementation under the supervision of the German biochemist Manfred Donike from the German Sport University Cologne can, however, not be emphasized highly enough. Many national and international federations have adopted the standards set in Munich; what is more, many of the regulations that were introduced for the doping analysis at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games are still used. For example, laboratories still have to provide reports within 24 hours, every testing procedure must contain the analysis of four control samples, and the GC separation and MS detection instruments that are used today have been developed on the basis of apparatuses used by Donike in 1972. It was the aim of the doping control team of the Munich Games to “set internationally approved standards with the doping controls at the 1972 Olympics in Munich”, and the long-lasting legacy leaves no doubt that this objective has been reached. Furthermore, Arnold Beckett and Manfred Donike were given the responsibility to accredit and supervise doping laboratories at future Olympic Games. Although the IOC was, and still is, heavily criticized for its doping policies and the inconsistency in protecting the honourable and ethically justifiable dimensions of its motto Citius-Altius-Fortius, one has to acknowledge that the introduction of tests and an official doping testing protocol at the beginning of the 1970s speak to the organization´s awareness of the increasing problem. The numerous scientific advances in doping analysis made in the same time period certainly supported this attitude as one should not forget that success in doping control depends on functioning doping analysis procedures. In light of this, the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich can be seen as the turning point in the doping control system within the Olympic Movement, which led the way for extensive doping controls in subsequent Olympic Games.