A coalition of British athletes who have never used performance-enhancing drugs has called for an urgent crackdown on doping in elite sport, describing the current system as an ‘Olympics with steroids’. In a letter to the UK Anti-Doping agency, 47 athletes from disciplines including athletics, cycling, and rowing demanded a fundamental overhaul of testing protocols and sanctions.
The signatories argue that the present deterrence framework is inadequate, with too many athletes able to evade detection through sophisticated masking agents or by timing their cycles outside competition windows. ‘Clean athletes are competing against cheats who have turned the Olympics into a laboratory arms race,’ said Sarah Miller, a former Olympic rower and one of the letter’s organisers. ‘We are calling for a zero-tolerance policy: lifetime bans for serious first offences and significantly more intelligence-led testing.’
The group points to recent scandals in weightlifting and athletics as evidence that the system is failing. They also criticised the World Anti-Doping Agency for what they perceive as a reactive rather than preventative approach. ‘WADA moves at the pace of a glacier while cheats move at the speed of a syringe,’ the letter reads.
In response, UK Anti-Doping acknowledged receipt of the letter and stated that it is ‘committed to upholding the integrity of sport through robust testing and education’. However, it noted that funding constraints limit the scope of its operations. The organisation said it would welcome a parliamentary inquiry into doping prevalence.
The call from clean athletes comes as the International Olympic Committee prepares for the Paris 2024 Games, where experts predict a surge in biological passport anomalies due to improved detection methods. Some within the anti-doping community argue that the only way to truly level the playing field is to allow all athletes to use performance-enhancing substances under medical supervision. The clean athletes’ coalition rejects this proposal outright, calling it ‘a surrender to cheats’.
‘We are not naively asking for a perfect system,’ said Miller. ‘But we are demanding that the system works for those who choose to compete honestly. The current model rewards those who game it.’
The letter has been sent to the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and the coalition plans to hold a press conference next week in Westminster to amplify their demands. The UK government has not yet commented.
