09 Dec 2015

Athletes participating  at the on-going 4^th Botswana Games at various venues in Francistown, Tonota and Tsamaya have been cautioned to resist the temptation to use performance-enhancing substances as doing so could be detrimental to their future.

In an interview on the side-lines of several track and field events held at Francistown Sports Complex on Tuesday (December 8), an Anti-Doping Control officer Godfrey Bose pointed out that the use of banned substances by athletes could have far-reaching consequences.

 He observed that effects of doping extended beyond sports fields, saying in most cases it  involved the use of medically-permissible drugs, which  often carried the risk of over-dosage; a situation which on its own put the life of an athlete in danger.

Bose, who is also a programmes officer at the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture, said as the committee tasked with fighting all manners of doping, they had seen the on-going Botswana Games as a golden opportunity through which they could reach out to a large number of young athletes.

He said it was crucial that sports people be taught about the dangers of doping at an early age, so by the time they progress into elite athletes, they already know what doping is and what effects it can have on their careers and their lives in general.

What made the need for anti-doping sensitisation campaigns more urgent, Bose said, was the realisation that prohibited substances had over the years become readily and easily accessible as some of the banned substances could be accessed from gym rooms and chemists.

Bose however highlighted the need for athletes to take responsibility for their own lives.

“What goes into your mouth is your responsibility because at the end of the day it is you who is going to get tested,” he said.

Furthermore he cautioned athletes to be vigilant regarding what they consume as well as to seek advice whenever in doubt about anything they wished to take.

Another Anti-Doping Control officer Mpho Kebitsang said their sensitisation and education campaign also targeted coaches and athletes’ parents. Ends