Ian Ritchie

Ian Ritchie is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Brock University, within the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences. His research focuses on anti-doping policies in international sport, particularly within the Olympic Games, and the historical development of value systems in modern sport. Co-author of the seminal book Fastest, Highest, Strongest: A Critique of High-Performance Sport, Ritchie examines the post-WWII evolution of anti-doping rules and the sociocultural construction of sport ethics. His work also addresses gender in sport, including the history of sex testing policies and the broader historiography of the Olympics.

Ritchie holds affiliations with organizations such as the International Network of Doping Research (INDR), the North American Society for Sport History (NASSH), and the International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA). His scholarship bridges sociology, history, and policy analysis, critiquing the intersection of ethics, science, and governance in high-performance athletics.

Recent publications analyze the mythological foundations of Olympic anti-doping policies, the role of shock tactics in reactionary policy-making, and the evolving discourse around sex determination in sport. Ritchie’s work consistently highlights the tension between idealized sporting values and their material and institutional realities.

Teaching focuses include the Sociology of Sport, Olympic Games Studies, and sociological theory applications in physical culture. While no specific grants or labs are explicitly detailed, his research actively engages with global sport governance structures and historical policy analysis.