Psychogenic urine retention during doping controls: Consequences for elite athletes

The status quo before the International Standard for Education: Elite adolescent athletes’ perceptions of anti-doping education

“…This might undermine the anti-doping system: without sufficient knowledge about their responsibilities during doping control, young athletes may be less equipped for compliance with the WADA rules and more vulnerable to mistakes during the doping control process (made by either the athletes and/or the doping control team) because they lack awareness of the control process including their rights and responsibilities and are less prepared once selected. Education before doping control exposure would be helpful for all athletes, many of whom are stressed by the process of doping testing (Elbe & Overbye, 2013;Elbe, Schlegel, & Brand, 2012), but it seems particularly important for athletes attending major sport competitions and who are therefore likely to be tested. Unexpectedly, among athletes in the 'selective' category (providing information and at least two educational approaches), 28% had no anti-doping education.…”

Kritik des Anti-Doping

“…Negative Erfahrungen bei Kontrollen können auch einen weiteren langfristigen Effekt haben, nämlich, dass AthletInnen an Selbstvertrauen verlieren (Elbe et al 2012). Vertrauen in die sportliche Leistungsfähigkeit ist ein entscheidender Faktor für das Erbringen von Höchstleistungen, weshalb negative Erfahrungen bei Dopingkontrollen längerfristig zu Leistungseinbußen führen können.…”

“…Zudem sollten sich insbesondere TrainerInnen bewusst sein, dass problematische Urin-Dopingkontrollen die Erholungsfähigkeit einiger AthletInnen negativ beeinflussen und auch die zukünftige sportliche Leistungsfähigkeit beeinträch-tigen können (Elbe et al 2012). Dies muss bei der Gestaltung von Trainingsplänen berücksichtigt werden, insbesondere dann, wenn das Training zeitnah nach einer problematischen Dopingkontrolle stattfindet.…”

The Urine Marker Test: An Alternative Approach to Supervised Urine Collection for Doping Control

“…This case is not unique; several recent studies have shown that a fairly large percentage of athletes experience difficulty regarding providing a urine sample. This pertains to difficulties urinating under supervision [5,6], feelings of one's freedom being infringed because of being watched during the urination process [6,7], impaired recovery following a stressful doping control [8], which can also negatively impact future performance [8], or an unpleasant urine control triggering the clinical disorder of paruresis [7,8]. The reasons for the inability to urinate during a doping control are manifold and are of both a physiological and a psychological nature.…”

“…Some athletes report delays in urinating of up to 3 h or more [5]. This difficulty in urinating at doping controls caused by psychological factors negatively impacts athlete recovery [8]. Furthermore, Elbe et al [8] showed that athletes who experience psychologically induced urination delays during doping controls are more likely to express a lack of confidence about their athletic competence.…”