The Impact of Contest Dynamics on Ex Post Doping Audits

In this article, we introduce competition between athletes to the model of ex post doping audits by Goetsch and Salzmann. We determine the doping minimizing storing and retesting strategy for a doping agency in a competitive setting between two athletes. We demonstrate that for the doping agency, there is only one doping minimizing strategy depending on the number of athletes. Even though the athletes’ doping decision is influenced by the contest, counterintuitively, the agency’s strategy is neither influenced by the prize of the contest nor by its balance or any other contest dynamics