Performance-Enhancing Drugs Olympics

[DeletedUser31931]

So at my school there was a debate recently about whether there should be an Olympics where Athletes should be allowed to use Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs for short) to spice things up etc. and so I thought it'd be interesting to get your views on the topic. As for what I think, it wouldn't be as big or good as the Olympics and it'd just end up being a waste of money in my opinion.

 

[DeletedUser]

There's a logical reason why they are being discouraged so harshly by various sporting organizations. Almost all of these "performance enhancing" drugs can cause serious harm to the body (and mind in some cases). It not only can, but it has killed.

Seems to me the lawsuits against any organization sponsoring the use of PEDs, and the malpractice suits to doctors/nurses for providing prescriptions encouraging their use for non-medical purposes, would far outweigh any potential gains.

 

[Ripwise]

Rules in any sport exist and that is to make it balanced. In motorsport cars go on normal petrol instead of nitrometane(except special classes) because higher octane fuels give more detonation thus more power. Same is in athletics because with exercise you get excellence while with anabolics and similar you get something that aint quite natural. That is atleast how i see it.

I wish we had someone who is pharmacist or chemist to explain exactly what happens to the ones body who uses such "medicine" and what are the reasons such substances exist.

Edit: Having normal or substance enhanced olimpics would be the same in my opinion, in normal olimpics you have normal athletes which is balanced while in 2nd you have "buffed" athletes which also makes it balanced.

Edit: Except Bolt, he outruns even enhanced drugs athletes

 

[DeletedUser15641]

I wouldn't worry too much about chemicals if they had a short effect but I'd worry about advancement in genetic engineering which is far more serious imo due to it in plants currently and possibility of moving on to try making super humans or soldiers and that is worse since the environment is a balance and once we tip this balance we'd might find the side effects of super humans as far more dangerous that we'd try to go back.

Aren't steroids the same drugs?

 

[DeletedUser1121]

It is naive to think that all the medals at the Olympics have been won by clean athletes. As long as the stakes are this high, PED's will be used. I think it would just level the playing field and make the sport more transparant if PED's were allowed.

 

[DeletedUser]

6.5% of all professional wrestlers, since 1997, have died as a result of PEDs. Many others have health issues related to the use of such.

Here's some information to pose a little light on the issue ---> http://www.usantidoping.org/effects-peds/

Simply stated, PEDs are dangerous, life threatening, and in many cases illegal (with or without a prescription). The reason people use them is to increase the chance of getting rich for their successes in a particular sport, not to make the sport more interesting. The motivation to use PEDs is entirely selfish and wholly self-destructive.

 

[DeletedUser]

I'm at least partly with Desi on this one. If they are being used anyway (which they are, and widely) then it might as well just be all out in the open, and let the participants decide for themselves to enhance or not.

Severe health risks from PEDs, no question...but we don't preclude adults from taking part in other dangerous activities just because they are dangerous. Can't be bothered to look at the figures, but there's a ridiculous number of ill-prepared climbers dying on Everest every year, for instance. As well as the obvious ones everyone knows, like smoking and drinking.

Enhanced competitive sport brings a whole bunch of different problems with it, I realise; pressure on young athletes from coaches and selectors, is one that comes to mind. I'm sure there's a slew of others I haven't thought of. But if it is happening anyway, pretending it isn't won't make the practice go away.

Tough topic, thanks.

 

[DeletedUser]

Because it is made illegal, because it is a bannable offense in the eyes of just about every sporting organization out there, it helps to "discourage" young athletes from taking PEDs. As this thread was about the Olympics, it seems rather important to point out the Olympics is about encouraging physical fitness and international sportsmanship.

As to the argument of making one contest without PEDs, another one with PEDs, you're still going to have the ones taking PEDs trying t sneak into the other contest. So it really doesn't make much difference to try and differentiate on that basis.

 

[Harsha..]

I've got a question - if drugs are such a big deal in sports, why doesn't WADA test every single athlete taking part in the Olympics?

if that isn't possible, there can be testing on everyone who wins a medal.

The technology for finding drugs is incredible - these days people are complaining that trace amounts from food supplements show up in a result. So, the technology is available. It wont be too difficult to make it cheaper

 

[DeletedUser]

Because testing is expensive and there are far too many participants. Cheaper to limit the testing to randomized and testing those who placed.

 

[Harsha..]

that isn't a fair reason. Isn't the Olympics supposed to be the greatest event on earth? - all measures humanely possible must be taken to keep it clean...because, being the greatest, the things that happen there reflects as a whole on the human race. Saying this, it would be foolish and immature to think of holding a separate Olympics for drug players. We best leave that to another organization like the IPL or WWE

The WADA can be more innovative in its approach - instead of just focusing on the technology side of things, they could work on the physiological side. There are many possible things that can be done to break an athlete's resolve to cheat

 

[Ripwise]

I trained kickbox for 10 years and i went to the distance of taking allowed supstances as proteines and dietary suplement but today i see the back side of this stuff. Muscle mass has dropped and weight stayed like bread mass. I advise everyone to not take this crap even tho its allowed, who knows, maybe next day will be forbidden!

These are my experiences with legal supstances and backs of them! I cant imagine what anabolics could do to human body.