By Mike Rowbottom

Doping analysis during the London 2012 Games ©Getty ImagesDoping in sport is due to become a crime in Germany for the first time, with a proposed law being presented at the Bundestag in Berlin tomorrow before being put to Parliament in Spring of next year.


The proposal, which was put on the stocks by the new German Government in its coalition agreement, would include jail terms of up to three years for elite athletes found guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

About 7,000 German professional athletes who are covered by the national testing programme will be affected by the new law, which would not extend to recreational athletes.

Foreign athletes caught doping while competing in Germany would also risk prison, as would doctors or others found to have provided drugs, with jail terms of up to 10 years being envisaged.

Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle of Germany competing at the Sochi Winter Games, from which she was ejected after a positive doping test ©Getty ImagesEvi Sachenbacher-Stehle of Germany competing at the Sochi Winter Games, from which she was ejected after a positive doping test ©Getty Images

Doping was pushed into the limelight in Germany last year following a report into the historic use of performance-enhancing drugs.

The subject hit the headlines again during the Sochi Winter Olympics when German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle.returned a positive doping test.