Are the enhanced games enhancing sport?

The Olympics are held aloft arsenic nan epitome of quality athletics, nan highest level of title possible. But a caller title is vying for nan spot astatine nan highest of athletics.  

The Enhanced Games are openly allowing – and encouraging – nan usage of performance-enhancing drugs successful diversion competition. 

Backed by a band of billionaires, Australian entrepreneur Aron D’Souza is nan encephalon down nan Games. D’Souza claims that existent anti-doping laws successful master athletics are “anti-science” and restrict athletes from achieving their afloat potential.  

The Enhanced Games will, supposedly, supply “the eventual objection of what nan quality assemblage is tin of”.   

But really good do nan Enhanced Games lucifer up to these lofty claims? 

Caption: The Olympic Rings are a awesome of elite athletics astir nan world – will nan Enhanced Games lucifer up?
Credit: Frans van Heerden via Pexels

“AN EQUAL PLAYING FIELD”

One of nan astir communal arguments against nan Enhanced Games is that they discuss nan ‘fairness’ of master sport. 

In an interview pinch nan ABC, Sport Integrity Australia Chief Executive David Sharpe said, “Australian athletes person historically demonstrated precocious levels of integrity, and this undermines decades of committedness from Australian athletes and their sports to cleanable and adjacent sport.” 

It’s a sentiment shared by many, but it does raise nan mobility of really adjacent master sports are to statesman with.  

Drugs aside, location are plentifulness of different ways to person an ‘unfair’ advantage successful sport. 

Caption: Steve Jones Natural Bodybuilder taken astatine Coogee Beach
Credit: Powerzone CC-BY-SA 3.0

“There is fundamentally nary specified point arsenic an adjacent playing field, sloppy of an jock utilizing enhancement narcotics aliases not,” says Dr Katinka van de Ven.

Katinka is simply a Visiting Fellow pinch nan Drug Policy Modelling Program astatine nan University of New South Wales and a Principal Consultant at 360Edge. 

Modern athletics are large business, pinch each Olympics raking in billions of dollars. Nations that tin spend nan champion training, exertion and aesculapian attraction springiness their athletes a awesome advantage complete nan competition. So is allowing nan medically supervised usage of enhancement narcotics really immoderate different?  

“Being an elite jock from a rich | state is very different from being an jock from nan processing world. Using enhancement narcotics conscionable adds different layer,” says Katinka.  

The Enhanced Games are offering exorbitant prizes for athletes who break world records. Olympic badge winning Australian swimmer James Magnussen said he’d “juice to nan gills” to triumph nan $1 cardinal prize for breaking nan 50m freestyle world record.   

With money for illustration that connected nan line, immoderate athletes are judge to person much support than others. 

“Some athletes successful nan Enhanced Games will person entree to nan highest-quality substances while being monitored by nan champion aesculapian team, whereas others will not,” says Katinka.  

Is that fair? No. But wrong nan confines of a title for illustration nan Enhanced Games, is nan unfastened usage of enhancement narcotics really immoderate little adjacent than nan galore different advantages athletes mightiness receive?  

RISKS TO HEALTH

Of course, there’s much to beryllium concerned astir than conscionable fairness. The Enhanced Games organisers declare nan arena will beryllium held to nan highest medical information standards, but there’s a anticipation that immoderate athletes mightiness beryllium led to taking excessive risks that frighten their beingness and mental health. 

“The consequence pinch nan Enhanced Games’ nary limitations … is that location is nan consequence athletes would usage very precocious quantities and a batch of different substances, moreover erstwhile location is not a batch of grounds of their effectiveness. Basically a ‘just successful case’ approach. And nan much group use, nan higher nan consequence of wellness harms occurring,” says Katinka.

There’s besides a interest astir really nan Enhanced Games mightiness power supplier usage civilization much broadly, peculiarly among younger people. 

“We consequence signalling that utilizing enhancement narcotics is simply a normal portion of athletics and a normal portion of preparing for a athletics competition. We cognize that nan younger group commencement utilizing substances, nan higher nan consequence is of processing problems pinch their use.” 

Caption: Olympic badge winning Australian swimmer James Magnussen has been 1 of nan first athletes to motion connected for nan Enhanced Games
Credit: Getty Images

MEDICAL SUPPORT

However, nan open, medically supervised usage of enhancement narcotics could make things safer for athletes. 

A 2014 reappraisal estimated that 14–39 % of big elite athletes usage doping.

In immoderate competitions, for illustration bodybuilding, nan usage of enhancement narcotics is each but assumed, pinch separate, ‘Natural Bodybuilding’ competitions needed for those who don’t. For those athletes already utilizing capacity drugs, nan request to hide their usage tin person vulnerable consequences. 

“Currently, enhancement narcotics usage is mostly hidden successful elite sport, and anti-doping policies person nan unintended consequence that they tin summation risky behaviours,” says Katinka. 

“Athletes will usage enhancement narcotics that cannot beryllium detected but perchance are much vulnerable … aliases it whitethorn lead to athletes not accessing wellness services erstwhile they acquisition problems pinch their use.” 

In immoderate cases, athletes mightiness even forego nan usage of medically prescribed drugs. 

“Applying for a therapeutic usage exemption is simply a analyzable and costly administrative process. In immoderate cases, it whitethorn lead to athletes being denied best-practice aesculapian care,” says Katinka. 

By providing a morganatic shape for drug-enhanced competition, nan Enhanced Games could thief forestall these dangers and moreover trim nan usage of narcotics successful ‘natural’ athletics.  

“Allowing medically supervised enhancement narcotics tin perchance person a number of affirmative consequences,” says Katinka. 

WILL IT WORK?

Frankly, what nan occurrence and effect of nan Enhanced Games will beryllium is anyone’s guess. 

Maybe they will beryllium to beryllium a safe, controlled measurement for athletes to usage enhancement narcotics – aliases possibly they’ll animate reckless and vulnerable usage among athletes and amateurs alike. 

Perhaps they will supply a transcendent illustration of quality accomplishment – aliases they’ll beryllium seen arsenic a tasteless spectacle that nary superior jock would compete in.  

There’s only 1 measurement to find out.