New research has found Australians believe many of the nation’s elite athletes are drug cheats. More than 2520 people were surveyed over the phone in the first Australian study of public attitudes towards sports doping.

The joint survey by two universities and Roy Morgan Research found the most commonly held public view was that a quarter of elite and professional athletes use performance-enhancing drugs and more than a third of athletes use recreational drugs.

Study co-author Associate Professor James Skinner, from Griffith University, said the public had the least faith in the stars of track and field, with 20 per cent believing performance-enhancing drugs were commonly used in athletics.

This comes as the International Olympic Committee is investigating a doping case that could lead to the stripping of gold medals from a US women’s relay team at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

Prof Skinner said 19 per cent believed doping was rife among professional weightlifters and 18 per cent believed it was common among elite cyclists, while a third perceived recreational drug use to be common among AFL and NRL players.

“The overwhelming majority of the Australian public believe sports doping is very serious and almost everyone believes the athlete should be sanctioned for such conduct,” Prof Skinner said.

“The public also believe that the major stakeholders in sport, including athletes, coaches, sporting bodies and government, should take action, including both fines and bans, when athletes are found to have used banned drugs.”

He said nearly 50 per cent of respondents had faith in the current Australian anti-doping regime.

The study was commissioned by the federal health department.

© AAP 2012

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