Objective: To explore the protective factors against performance enhancing drug (PED) use in sport via a qualitative analysis of athletes' lifelong athletic careers. Method: Ten competitive athletes (M=5, F=5) representing five different sports (field hockey, boxing, football, triathlon, rugby league) were recruited through convenience sampling to undertake a semi-structured interview. Method: Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using an established three-stage coding process which identified the common themes through the narratives. Results: Personal and situational protective factors were identified in the athletes accounts. Personal factors included:(i) a strong moral stance against cheating; (ii) an identity beyond sport; (iii) self-control; and (iv) resilience to social group pressures. Secure attachments across the lifespan, which facilitated the promotion of moral decision making and assisted in the development of anti-doping attitudes, was collectively identified as a situational factor. When systemic factors, such as a pro-doping climate, came into play key attachments in the athletes' lives interplayed with personal factors to reduce the risk of doping. Conclusions: These findings offer insights into factors that protect against using PEDs in sport and further our understanding of the complex interaction between risk and protective factors at individual, psychosocial and societal levels among competitive athletes. As a complex behavior, doping in sport cannot be prevented by focusing on the individual athlete alone; contextual factors beyond the athlete's control also impact on this behavior. Thus, a paradigm shift beyond an athlete-centered approach to anti-doping is warranted.

Whistleblowing is effective for exposing doping in sport, garnering increased support and promotion within the global anti-doping community. However, limited attention has been afforded towards understanding the doping whistleblowing process. In response, the authors convey a sense of the whistleblowing context by using the actual words of whistleblowers to illuminate their experience. To achieve this aim, the authors have adopted a narrative approach. Three doping whistleblowers were interviewed regarding their lived experiences of whistleblowing on doping and the data has been represented in the form of one composite creative non-fiction story. The story narrates the whistleblowing experience as a process whereby individuals must (a) determine what they witnessed and experienced was doping, (b) make the decision and take action to report it, and (c) deal with the myriad of consequences and emotions. It also highlights the dilemma faced by whistleblowers who are likely equally compelled to adhere to the moral of loyalty and fairness; yet in this context they are unable to do both. Stemming from the story presented and the forms of retribution experienced, the authors offer practical suggestions for sporting organisations to address in order to empower others to whistleblow on doping in sport. Specifically, organisations should establish and implement whistleblowing policies that: (a) provide protection for whistleblowers, (b) mandate whistleblowing education, and (c) identify an independent person for individuals to seek guidance and support from before, during and following the act of whistleblowing.

The Leeds Beckett repository holds a wide range of publications, each of which has been checked for copyright and the relevant embargo period has been applied by the Research Services team. We operate on a standard take-down policy. If you are the author or publisher of an output and you would like it removed from the repository, please contact us and we will investigate on a case-by-case basis. Each thesis in the repository has been cleared where necessary by the author for third party copyright. If you would like a thesis to be removed from the repository or believe there is an issue with copyright, please contact us on openaccess@leedsbeckett.ac.uk and we will investigate on a case-by-case basis. "I don't know if I would report them": Student-athletes' thoughts, feelings and anticipated behaviours on blowing the whistle on doping in sport.

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Objective: The purpose of this paper was to extend current doping research efforts by shifting the focus away from a doping-user perspective to examine the experiences of elite athletes that have been personally affected by other athletes doping behaviours.Design: This research works within the interpretive paradigm, adopting relativist ontology and transactional/subjectivist epistemology.Method: Conversational interviews were conducted with 'competitive' (N = 2) and 'retired' (N = 2) elite Track and Field athletes from multiple countries. In order to communicate the findings in a way that captures the complexity of the issue, whilst also appealing to the athletes this issue affects, creative non-fiction stories were used to present the findings.Results: Two stories were created; one incorporating the 'competitive' athletes' experiences and one presenting the 'retired' athletes' accounts. The stories detail financial, emotional, and relational implications stemming from others' use of performance enhancing drugs. Critically, the impact is not ephemeral; the retired athletes detailed the long-term implications of their experiences. Meanwhile, the competitive athletes suggest that given the current state of sport, they regularly have to defend their status as 'clean athletes'. Thus, the ripples of doping in sport appear to be far reaching and enduring.Conclusions: Incorporating a novel mode of knowledge production within the doping literature, the stories presented here demonstrate elite athletes' candid accounts of being impacted by others' doping behaviours in sport. This study also emphasises the value of adopting novel and creative approaches to data collection and representation within the field of doping research.