They test for doping at the Olympics, for the stated reason that doping is not fair to the other competitors. Yet how fair is it to the athlete from Kenya that he or she is competing against an American athlete who trained at the U.S. Olympic Center in Colorado Springs, and has the benefit of a world class coaching and technology?
Where is the line between taking an expensive supplement of select amino acids, such as glutamine or the branched chain amino acids, which are normal substances found in the blood after protein is digested, and taking testosterone which is also a normal substance found in the blood?
Is it "fair" that some people have naturally higher concentrations of performance-enhancing hormones than others? Since hormone concentration lags with age, is it "fair" to permit a 20-year old athlete to compete against a 35-year old?
Some have genetically less myostatin, which halts muscle growth. Some appear to have no myostatin and grow muscle tissue the way I grow roaches in the kitchen and mushrooms in the refrigerator. Is this "fair"? Does "fairness" dictate that those not so favored be allowed to compensate through better biochemistry?
What is "fairness"?
Some attack the use of performance-enhancing drugs because they are dangerous. Well, what sport does not risk injury and create wear and tear? Certainly not cycling! And despite all the scare stories about the use of steroids by young athletes, steroids overall are less of a danger than prescribed drugs, which are something like #4 in cause of death in the USA.
Your view?
Where is the line between taking an expensive supplement of select amino acids, such as glutamine or the branched chain amino acids, which are normal substances found in the blood after protein is digested, and taking testosterone which is also a normal substance found in the blood?
Is it "fair" that some people have naturally higher concentrations of performance-enhancing hormones than others? Since hormone concentration lags with age, is it "fair" to permit a 20-year old athlete to compete against a 35-year old?
Some have genetically less myostatin, which halts muscle growth. Some appear to have no myostatin and grow muscle tissue the way I grow roaches in the kitchen and mushrooms in the refrigerator. Is this "fair"? Does "fairness" dictate that those not so favored be allowed to compensate through better biochemistry?
What is "fairness"?
Some attack the use of performance-enhancing drugs because they are dangerous. Well, what sport does not risk injury and create wear and tear? Certainly not cycling! And despite all the scare stories about the use of steroids by young athletes, steroids overall are less of a danger than prescribed drugs, which are something like #4 in cause of death in the USA.
Your view?