Athletes with intellectual impairments and their support personnel’s experience of anti-doping

No research has specifically examined the anti-doping experiences of athletes with intellectual impairments. We responded to this gap by interviewing athletes and their support personnel (e.g., parents and coaches) about their experience of anti-doping policy and practice. International athletes (N = 10; 20% female) with intellectual impairments and their support personnel (N = 16; 50% female) volunteered to participate in the study. Using an interpretive paradigm, participants attended an online, semi-structured interview. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and three higher order themes were created. First, while athletes had an awareness of anti-doping and believed it was important to stop cheating, they found it difficult to understand more complex anti-doping policies and practices and questioned why they themselves needed to be drug tested. Second, anti-doping education was inaccessible and as a result, many reported negative emotional distress during drug testing and great difficulty engaging with educational resources. Finally, a number of best practices were outlined for those with intellectual impairments, which included ensuring anti-doping control staff are empathetic and considerate of the athletes’ needs, shortening, simplifying and repeating educational sessions over the year, and educating support personnel alongside their athlete to offer help throughout the season. In conclusion, anti-doping policy and practice needs to be adapted and tailored for athletes with intellectual impairments to help increase their understanding of their anti-doping rights and responsibilities and in turn, ensure their well-being.

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