Thirty-one athletes from 12 countries could be banned from competing in the Rio Olympics. The announcement comes after drug tests from the Beijing Games were retested and came back positive.
The International Olympic Committee commissioned the retesting of samples from Beijing and London after a Russian anti-doping authority confessed to running a doping scheme during the Sochi Winter Olympics.
Every Olympics sees records broken alongside new revelations about the use of drugs to enhance performance.
Media coverage of doping tends to focus on the failure of individuals to honestly represent their country. But the nature of elite competition sports put pressure on athletes to continue improving.
Former triathlete Ashley Thomas said this pressure has a significant impact on an athlete’s mindset.
“They’re so singularly focussed on their sport and what they want to achieve that they’ll do anything to get there,” she said.
UOWTV Multimedia spoke with Ashley and swim coach James Greathead about pressure, balance and hitting the wall.
