People have long thought about doping in competitions, but will it actually happen? What are the abilities of athletes?Image: Midway
The Improving Athletes competition is set to take place in 2025 and has caused a strong response in the sporting world since it was announced. But there are different views.
Rainer Somerhalder/ch media
The outrage in the sports community was immense. When Australian investor and businessman Aaron D'Souza floated the idea of an “enhanced Olympics” in 2023, the response from anti-doping groups, sports federations and doctors was sharp and clear. The idea of officially allowing doping in competition was unconditionally rejected.
Meanwhile, not only have sports organizations and the media commented on the plans, but so have scientists. They take a differentiated approach to pushing the limits of physical performance and ultimately optimizing the human mind. Along with a lot of criticism, they also pointed out the positives.
Head of “Augmented Gaming”: Aron D'Souza.
The Augmented Olympics deliberately and provocatively position themselves as an alternative to the Olympics, which they call “corrupt.” The methods participants use to improve their performance are up to them. There will be no doping tests. Anyone who breaks the world record will receive a $1 million prize.
“Good people should be rewarded,” said D'Souza, who lives in London. The five sports on offer are athletics, swimming, gymnastics, martial arts and weightlifting. Organizers even claimed that by abolishing doping tests, the competition would become “fairer”.
Modern laboratory mouse species
Former Olympic competitors have expressed their interest, and powerful business investors want to back the event financially, such as libertarian American billionaire and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. According to Aaron D'Souza, many of the athletes competing in Paris this summer also hope to participate in the plyometric games. Organizers say the Olympics are a laboratory for human development using medical and scientific methods.
Is controlled doping better than covert cheating?Image: Shutterstock
Over the past few months, several scientific articles have appeared that deal with the idea of the event in different ways. British Andrew Richardson writes that it is a very interesting idea to explore the possibilities in the field of improving human performance. The same goes for the answer to the question of whether existing records can be significantly improved.
However, Richardson believes it is the responsibility of organizers to do more to ensure the health of athletes. On the prevention side, they rely on health testing rather than doping testing and want to subject all participants to a variety of medical health tests, such as screenings, blood tests and electrocardiograms. This way, the possibility of health damage from doping is minimized.
Have you ever seen athletes die on TV?
The British scientist said more work needs to be done. He called for substances taken to be tested to ensure they are not counterfeit or dangerous products. In addition, competitors are advised to be notified before competition and the amount of doping consumed by each athlete is limited. “No one wants to see athletes hospitalized or, in the worst cases, die from taking these drugs,” he wrote in the paper.
Can a man run faster than Usain Bolt due to doping?Image source: EPA/EPA
The consequences of athletes becoming role models have also been criticized. For example, to what extent do doping athletes encourage young people to take anabolic steroids? In his conclusion, Richardson also spoke positively of the experiment: “Encouraging athletes to improve and break the silence gives them the opportunity to be part of a community that doesn't make them feel guilty for taking these drugs. ”
Luke Thomas Joseph Cox, a scientist from Wales, also came to this conclusion: “Just as bodybuilding is divided into tested and untested disciplines, so too can this event coexist with the Olympic Games – because they Each embodies different ideals and identities.”
Opposing doping as a health risk
April Henning, a sociologist from Scotland who specializes in sports, is more radical. For them, the planned event turns the entire logic of the anti-doping fight on its head. But she saw no drama in it. “The main risk to athletes who dope is against doping itself, and abolishing this anti-doping regime could have significant harm reduction effects,” she writes in her book on enhanced sports.
Henning defended her statement by saying that doping carries a stigma, not least because the fight against doping gives it a moral value. “Doping is synonymous with cheating, unfairness and bad sportsmanship. Anti-doping has become an ideology in many countries. Athletes go to great lengths to avoid detection, which is especially dangerous to their health.”
Abolition of doping testing or sanctions gives athletes access to legal support to pursue the most effective, lowest-risk methods to improve performance. Research also suggests that “doping in elite sport may not be as harmful as feared.”
So far, the project is just a PR opportunity
Understandably, organized sports has taken a completely different stance. The International Olympic Committee described the Augmented Games as “a joke, unfair and unsafe”. WADA described the incident as a “dangerous and irresponsible concept”. “Athletes are role models and we believe this event sends the wrong message to young people around the world,” she wrote.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach may not be a fan of the Enhanced Games.Image: trapezoid
Grigory Rodchenkov, a doctor who fled to the United States and a former mastermind of Russia's doping program, told CNN: “This is a threat to health and sport. The event could “It would be extremely harmful to a younger generation of athletes who mistakenly believe in this concept.” Travis Tygart, the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, described the idea as “a dangerous clown show.” No one really wants our children to grow up with rampant doping in sports, even if some profiteers think otherwise.
So far, the launch of the enhanced game has basically been like one big PR show. Whether the planned first implementation will actually take place in the second half of next year remains highly uncertain. Organizers say negotiations over the venue are progressing well. Several cities around the world have expressed interest. However, people have been waiting for months for news on the event's homepage. Other than that idea, everything else is pretty vague.
Ajax Amsterdam changes its club crest. The Dutch record champion is returning to the traditional path. The reason was a special anniversary.
European football's top clubs now change their logos every few years. However, while many representatives – notably Juventus Turin – rely on a so-called modern and minimalist design, Ajax Amsterdam have taken a different path.
