Anti-Doping Knowledge among Parents of Triathlon Athletes

In Japan, cases have occurred in which inadequate home management of medicines contributed to the detection of prohibited substances in athlete samples, resulting in anti-doping rule violations. We aimed to systematically clarify the level of anti-doping (AD) knowledge among parents and guardians of junior triathlon athletes. The target population comprised parents/guardians of athletes competing in junior high school, U19, and U23 triathlon categories (n = 216). An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was distributed during athlete registration (the day before and the day of the competition) and through team outreach, with voluntary participation. The final sample included 75 respondents, none of whom had previously received AD education. The total score for the 10 knowledge items was 4 (range: 0–10) points for parents/guardians and 6 (range: 0–10) points for age-group athletes, with the latter showing significantly higher scores (P <0.01). In response to the question,