November 10, 2026 — 7:28pm

The head of Australia’s anti-doping body fears a rise in performance-enhancing drug use in junior sport after new data found one in 20 junior athletes were involved in doping.

The chief executive of Sport Integrity Australia Dr Sarah Benson said she was alarmed by the impact social media influencers were having in normalising peptide and drug use, especially among teenage boys.

Her concerns come after the German documentary Doping (Kinder) found six per cent of minors had admitted to doping, which Benson said had raised a “red flag” with SIA.

The documentary on German broadcaster ARD compiled 44 different surveys of junior athletes from 15 different countries and found between five and six per cent of junior athletes admitted to doping, or performance-enhancing drug use.

Sarah Benson heads Sport Integrity Australia, which replaced the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority.

ARD and doping experts projected that would equate to more than 10 million children of the more than…