Topic: Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) – How has it evolved
over time and allowed humans to continually break records (draft)
Executive Summary:
This paper
will seek to understand and evaluate how performance enhancing drugs has
changed and evolved over time and how athletes are breaking records faster than
they can set them. Understanding these issues, what are the ethical and social
issues that come with such drugs, and where do we draw the line? In my opinion,
Performance Enhancing Drugs can be defined as substances used by athletes to
improve their performance in the sports which they engage.
Why I chose this topic?
Ever since the
dawn of mankind, men has been trying to establish who the most alpha male is,
primitive tests would include who’s the best hunter or fighter. However, after
becoming civilized, we could no longer use these tests and instead, we compete
through sports. In the pursuit of excellence, athletes turn to performance
enhancing drugs to stretch the capabilities of a human being. Every Olympics,
we witness athletes breaking world records set by their predecessors. However,
that being said, there are some records that remain unbroken for decades even
with the improvement of PEDs, why is that so?
Background:
- Natural stimulants from nature, e.g. wine, caffeine.
- Invention of Steroids
- Invention of designer steroids
- Invention of human growth hormones as well as insulin peptides
Historical Perspective:
- 779-393BC: Ancient Greek athletes drank wine potions, used hallucinogens and ate animal hearts
- 100AD: Gladiators ingest hallucinogens and stimulants such as strychnine to stave off fatigue and injury.
- 1904-1920: PEDs used in Modern Olympic Games
- 1928: First rule against doping in sports
- 1940-1945: Nazis test steroids on prisoners and Hitler
- 1940-1945: Solders use amphetamines during WW2
- 1958: FDA approves first Anabolic Steroid for sale in US
- 1968: First drug testing in Olympic Games
- 1990: Congress passes anabolic steroid act
- 2002: Anti-doping pioneer identifies first designer steroids
- 2009: Winner of Kentucky Derby is tested for steroids for the first time ( even horses get injected with steroids now )
- 2012: Lance Armstrong stripped of seven Tour De France titles after declining to fight doping charges (news that shocked the world!)
- Timeline acquired from :
- http://sportsanddrugs.procon.org/view.timeline.php?timelineID=000017
Current Perspective:
- 1977: Mr Olympia Frank Zane (crowned for being the best bodybuilder) weighed on 185lbs! 2012: Mr Olympia Phil Heath weighed in at 250lbs! A whooping 65lbs more muscles!
- 1968: 100m fastest runner, Jim Hines, ran a 9.95s! 2012: 100m fastest runner, Usain Bolt, 9.63s! [From 1968->1996 (28 years), 100m improved 0.11s. Over the last 10 years, 9.78->9.63s which is 0.15s. What we used 28 years to achieve has been condensed to only 10 years.]
Future Consideration:
- What will humans be able to achieve in the next 10 years with better PEDs?
- Will there be specific steroids catered to specific individuals?
- Will there be different categories for 'enhanced' athletes? Different categories such as: Enhanced / Natural? Or maybe even a category for those who has robotic-prosthetic !
Evaluation:
- How do we measure true athletic capabilities throughout time? Do we just accept the records as they come?
- Does better PEDs equate better performance? What are some records that stood the test of time? Why? What can we learn from those individuals
Conclusion:
In summary, I
will look into how PEDs have evolved (the technology behind them) and how
athletes have been breaking records. While we celebrate new world records and
more barriers being broken, there are issues to be address such as ethical
usage of such drugs. If an athlete can only compete at international level when
they take such PEDs, what message are we sending out to our athletes?
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