On the TV program Carte Blanche we saw how young school kids were buying horse steroids to enhance their performance. It just brought the reality of what is happening in the sporting industry back into the news. The fact that kids as young as twelve are already taking creatine to improve their muscle compound is frightening. I know that creatine is a legal substance, but I am sure it will eventually be banned as well. We have not seen the long term effects of it yet. I am however sure that those young kids will somewhere in the future be tempted to use either performance enhancing stimulants or steroids. The competitive nature of sport has become so huge that people are trying their best to invent new substances in order to try and achieve the ultimate success. Just do your self a favour and go and read that international banned substances list. It is huge and still growing.
In the eighties, I am not going to look up the date – please do not slaughter me if I get a date a little wrong or little errors like that as I write freely without having any reference material close at hand. I express an opinion of what comes to mind during the time I type this blog.
In the eighties, Ben Johnson thrashed the 100m world record at the Olympic games when he was the first athlete ever to break the 9.9s time with a winning time of 9.86s. This was an amazing performance. The great Carl Lewis was second in 9.93s – also bettering the old record. After the games the most famous drug shock hit the world. Ben Johnson tested positive for the use of steroids and was banned by the International Olympic committee out of sport. Carl Lewis was awarded the gold medal and the squeaky clean Americans were all happy. Ben Johnson was now no longer the man who ran the 100 meters the fasted ever. Carl Lewis was now the fastest man alive. That is what was sold to the world, but that leaves me with a question. Is it true that Carl is now the fastest man in the world? Surely Ben was still the fastest man ever – even though he had something that improved his performance.
After that we had the whole drug enforcement in sports sharpened up and people have since been expelled and banned all over all types of sports. There has even been a banning in bowls!
If you look at the number of top athletes that still get caught on an annual basis, it poses an interesting question to me. There is obvious that there are people who do not mind taking these substances although medical evidence has shown all types of side effects. Is it not a question of choice? Just like people smoke as a choice although it is obviously unhealthy? Should these people who want to use enhancing substances not be allowed to compete as well? We all know that bodybuilders have been using it legally in their sport for many years. Should other sports not go the same route?
That brings me to the generation of super sportsman. If you go for a land speed record in a car, you are allowed to mix your fuel in any way you want to get the ultimate power out of the engine. No one disputes the fact hat it is now the fastest car an no one complains because the person did not use standard fuel or that it was not a standard vehicle. Should the same rule not have applied to Ben Johnson? He was the fastest man. He did record the fasted time for the 100 meters that day. We cannot dispute it.
I know that there are many people who complain about the unfairness of using these drugs, so maybe what we should do is have a double competition. One for all the clean athletes and one for all the “druggies”. Why can we not create a match or event where the people who make the choice to use steroids and performance enhancing drug. It is surely their choice and I can promise you that many people will watch. It will be a league of extraordinary athletes who will kick out wonderful performances. A lot of them compete in today’s world in any case without bee caught yet. I for one, would definitely watch them.
To me it is all the case of choices. Personally I would have never thought of using any performance enhancing drugs. Maybe I was too good without any assistance (ha-ha), but it never appealed to me. There are however people who want to use it and I respect their will. Let them compete in their own super league and I promise you that we will have a drug free sport section. That should satisfy everyone.
In the eighties, I am not going to look up the date – please do not slaughter me if I get a date a little wrong or little errors like that as I write freely without having any reference material close at hand. I express an opinion of what comes to mind during the time I type this blog.
In the eighties, Ben Johnson thrashed the 100m world record at the Olympic games when he was the first athlete ever to break the 9.9s time with a winning time of 9.86s. This was an amazing performance. The great Carl Lewis was second in 9.93s – also bettering the old record. After the games the most famous drug shock hit the world. Ben Johnson tested positive for the use of steroids and was banned by the International Olympic committee out of sport. Carl Lewis was awarded the gold medal and the squeaky clean Americans were all happy. Ben Johnson was now no longer the man who ran the 100 meters the fasted ever. Carl Lewis was now the fastest man alive. That is what was sold to the world, but that leaves me with a question. Is it true that Carl is now the fastest man in the world? Surely Ben was still the fastest man ever – even though he had something that improved his performance.
After that we had the whole drug enforcement in sports sharpened up and people have since been expelled and banned all over all types of sports. There has even been a banning in bowls!
If you look at the number of top athletes that still get caught on an annual basis, it poses an interesting question to me. There is obvious that there are people who do not mind taking these substances although medical evidence has shown all types of side effects. Is it not a question of choice? Just like people smoke as a choice although it is obviously unhealthy? Should these people who want to use enhancing substances not be allowed to compete as well? We all know that bodybuilders have been using it legally in their sport for many years. Should other sports not go the same route?
That brings me to the generation of super sportsman. If you go for a land speed record in a car, you are allowed to mix your fuel in any way you want to get the ultimate power out of the engine. No one disputes the fact hat it is now the fastest car an no one complains because the person did not use standard fuel or that it was not a standard vehicle. Should the same rule not have applied to Ben Johnson? He was the fastest man. He did record the fasted time for the 100 meters that day. We cannot dispute it.
I know that there are many people who complain about the unfairness of using these drugs, so maybe what we should do is have a double competition. One for all the clean athletes and one for all the “druggies”. Why can we not create a match or event where the people who make the choice to use steroids and performance enhancing drug. It is surely their choice and I can promise you that many people will watch. It will be a league of extraordinary athletes who will kick out wonderful performances. A lot of them compete in today’s world in any case without bee caught yet. I for one, would definitely watch them.
To me it is all the case of choices. Personally I would have never thought of using any performance enhancing drugs. Maybe I was too good without any assistance (ha-ha), but it never appealed to me. There are however people who want to use it and I respect their will. Let them compete in their own super league and I promise you that we will have a drug free sport section. That should satisfy everyone.
No comments:
Post a Comment