Manfred Donike

Manfred Donike (23 August 1933, Köttingen, Rhine Province – 21 August 1995, on a flight from Frankfurt am Main to Johannesburg) was a German cyclist and chemist, known for his research on doping.^[1] Donike lived in Rölsdorf.

Donike studied chemistry in Cologne and graduated in 1965. By 1972, Donike had developed a procedure capable of accurate detection of banned substances and their metabolites through analysis, using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, of urine. In 1977 he was appointed director of the Institute of Biochemistry at the German Sport University in Cologne. There he was instrumental in the development of drug tests still in use today. Today the worldwide standards in the sample preparation and the analytical methods are based in many parts on his ideas, suggestions and experiences. Donike was the leading doping expert who testified against the sprinter Ben Johnson in the 1988 sprint scandal.

In 1960 and 1961 Donike competed in the Tour de France. His son, also called Manfred, competed at the 1984 Summer Olympics.^[1]

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