A Leveled Playing Field: Where is the Ethical Reasoning between

Performance Enhancing Technologies and Performance

Enhancing Drugs?

By: Danielle Leavitt

Athletics has been a topic of controversy since its beginning: what can and cannot be
considered as fair-play rules, what conduct a participant must and must not adhere
to, and what courses of action are allowed for an athlete to take to further his/her
abilities outside of practice and competition. With the beginning of a more
technologically capable society making its way into all aspects of human culture, the
role of ethicality amongst sports and athletic performance has never faced such high
risk threats. Performance enhancing drugs, such as steroids, have received wide
recognition over the years, and it is a globally-known fact for professional and collegiate
athletes that these substances are banned from usage. While the majority does not use
performance-enhancing drugs, many athletes nowadays do turn to performance
enhancing technologies to better their nutrition, training and equipment.

Performance enhancing technologies include equipment, dietary supplements, and

attire that are legally allowed to be used by an athlete to better ability during
competition. CNCN released an article, containing a list of some of the more popular
performance enhancing sports products. Some of these products include, specially
made swimsuits, spiked, and lighter running shoes for the track athletes, Gatorade
drinks and gels to
replenish depleted
electrolytes, and
power balance
bracelets which
enhance the
wearers balance

coordination.
23 time Olympic Gold medalist, swimmer Michael Phelps, competing in
Many top Division his technologically advanced, performance-enhancing swim gear

I school athletes and professional athletes receive sponsorship from sporting companies
such as New Balance and Nike, that provide them with more advanced levels of
rehabilitation technologies, dietary plans and vitamins, and gear to fully-enhance their
playing abilities.

While these performance enhancing technologies are considered legal, and in most
cases are encouraged (as
many coaches recommend
their usage by the athletes),
the recent controversy arises
when one questions how
these technologies are any
different than steroid use.
Those who are against the
usage of any performance

Fastest man in the world, 19 time Olympic Gold medalist, track enhancing technology may
athlete Usain Bolt, carrying his evoSpeed Electric Gold racing argue that it is unfair for
spikes
scientists to help athletes win competitions. Looking at some of the greatest athletes of
the day, it is undeniable that these competitors do receive a much higher level of
treatment than the average athlete. For example, there is Chris Boardman, the 1992
Barcelona Olympics Gold medalist. Circle City Bicycles published an article on
Boardmans bike, and how his specially-engineered machine and racing attire
attributed to a dramatic gain in his
overall performance. His helmet and
bicycle were both crafted in a way to
reduce aerodynamic drag, which
ultimately helped him in reducing
time during the race. As pictured,
Chris Boardmans helmet was
specially constructed to have a long
pointed back, reducing air drag. The
entirety of his bike was designed with specific instruction, and every detail from the
handlebars and wheels were devised with intention to improve performance.

In addition to Boardman, there are many other competitors who use this tactic to help
their own respective
practices. Kitman Labs is
another practice that
specializes in athletic
optimization through the
usage of technologies and
sports science. In a video,
Kitman Labs scientists
explain how their
NormaTec Pulse Boots utilize compression therapy to provide a
practices are used to be mechanical massage, mimicking muscular contraction. Used after a hard
workout, the sleeves can be worn over various body parts to aid
able to prevent injury
muscular repair and delayed muscle soreness
and aid in athletic recovery for deliverance of stronger results. While their practices are
completely authorized, critics argue that the benefits are greatly unfair, if steroids are
banned, why should these ingenuities be any different?

However, what these critics do not

understand is that the extent of
scientifically based training
routines, special diets, and
complex physiological and
biomechanical assistances cannot
match the effects of drug
enhancement. There is a
difference between training at
altitude and taking erythropoietin,
to achieve the similar effects of
Cryotherapy is a chamber that exposes the body to
temperatures ranging from -166 to -274 degrees Fahrenheit increasing red blood cell counts
for 3 minutes. It assists in minimizing pain associated
with inflammation, and is used by many elite athletes
and ultimately improving a
stronger aerobic threshold. There
is a difference between using a nose strip to
increase oxygen, and digesting a drug that
reduces airway resistance. There is a reason
why certain surgeries are legal, while other
steroids are not, and the answer for each is all
the same: technologies used outside the body
are eligible for competition, while internal

performance enhancers are illegal.

There are no internal risks to using a body-
fitting suit made out a material that assists in
3D Motion and kinematics analysis use tracking
software to analyze sport-specific motions. Results
allow sports scientists to identify biomechanical
inefficiencies and muscular imbalances that may
be invisible to the human eye
alleviating tackles in a Rugby game, just as there is no physical harm in using a baseball
bat that allows for a stronger, more powerful hit. Ultimately, what it comes down to is
that performance enhancing technologies do not have the detrimental, significant health
risks that drugs do. These tools that athletes utilize are just the icing on the cake, the
final way to get the most out of their hard training. No shoe or swim cap can make an
athlete great, or affect their abilities the way a drug can. No athlete will be stripped of
their titles because of their choice to use a specific technology to help recover faster. All
of these products they use are only supplements, not chemical-altering, body-
transforming substances, just ways for them to fully enhance their training and
performance.

Word Count: 1,020

Sources:

CNBC. 10 Performance Enhancing Sports Products. CNBC, 29 January 2014,

www.cnbc.com/2011/07/29/10-Performance-Enhancing-Sports-
Products.html?slide=12

Glover, Zac. Three Sports Performance Companies Combining Technology & Science
To Build Superior Athletes. Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 15 May 2017,
www.forbes.com/sites/zacglover/2017/05/15/3-sports-performance-companies-
combining-technology-science-to-build-superior-athletes/#2f5477985d92. Accessed 25
Sept. 2017.

The Story Behind Boardman Bikes. Circle City Bicycles,

www.circlecitybicycles.compagethe-story-behind-boardman-bikes.