Boosting: the Anti-Diuretic

The Paralympics are also not immune to cases of doping. The IPC, the International Paralympic Committee that oversees the event, uses the same list of banned substances as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). In fact, two powerlifters tested positive for diuretics in out-of-competition tests before the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, and were banned from those games. However, depending on their medical needs, disabled athletes may successfully apply to therapeutically use certain listed drugs, including diuretics.

A type of doping that is unique to the Paralympics is a practice known as boosting. Boosting is the act of deliberating triggering autonomic dysreflexia, a "fight or flight" reaction that occurs in individuals with spinal cord injuries and is characterized by a rise in blood pressure. How is it achieved? Athletes block their catheters so that their bladders overfill and distend...