Imagine This

[Kirsner72]

It's September of 2007. Drugs have been completely eliminated from the sport. No EPO, no steroids, no HGH, no blood doping, etc.

The best times in the world include a 13:03 5000, a 10.02 100, a 1:43.67 800, a 2:08:22 Marathon, a 11.06 100, a 3:59.03 1500, a 2:23:38 Marathon, etc.

Is this a better world?

[az2]

Re: Imagine This

The chemists can always stay ahead of the testers.

However, the penalties for getting caught need to be very severe.

Looking at American pro sports, there's NOT the total uproar, compared to positive tests in Atletics.

View pro sports as entertainment, and an arguement for permitting cheating, IN THE NAME of ENHANCED performances cfan be made.

How much music was pyschicly enhanched!!

The key is the willingness to accept the cheating and the cheaters willingness to accept the SIDE EFFECTS.

This goes against a MORAL ethic, which calls for purity.

So in the SPIRIT of MASS cheating, make ALL the tools of cheating available to all.

And since NO ones gets an edge...perhaps, NAIVELY, the cheap will not cheat...

This is JUST a viewpoint, NOT MY BELIEF...but a possible concept to be considered

[panther04track]

Re: Imagine This

A much better world.... I'll take a strategy filled... close race to near WR times any day.

[bhall]

Re: Imagine This

Are you implying that anyone who has ever run faster than the times you posted was doping?

[No Name]

Re: Imagine This

Uh-oh, the thread is about to be yanked

[Kirsner72]

Re: Imagine This

Are you implying that anyone who has ever run faster than the times you posted was doping?<<

Of course not. I am certain, however, that were this a 100% clean sport, the "norms" WRT what constituted a fantastic, WL performance would be different, in some events, VERY different...

[steve]

Re: Imagine This

That statement must mean, by extension, that you are accusing some of today's world record holders (in the events you mentioned at least) of cheating.

[DecFan]

Re: Imagine This

Can I restate the question for the original poster?

Assume for the sake of argument that completely ridding the sport of drugs would cause performance drop-offs as he suggested. Would that be an improvement or not?

This is well worth discussing, without having it deteriorate into "He takes drugs, she takes drugs."

[DIII Coach]

Re: Imagine This

Empatically spoken, my answer is YES

And I wouldn't truly characterize music that was drug "enhanced" to really be music. Bad analogy!

[tafnut]

Re: Imagine This

Of course it would be infinitely better, because the suspicion of drug use takes all the fun out of the sport. "Of course so-and-so won, she's juiced." If we rid the sport of all drugs (sigh - as if) levels would fall for a while, but then slowly rise again, and we would ALL be happier with clean competition.

[Diego Sahagún]

Re: Imagine This

Yes, it would be a better world... Drugs suck!

[trackhead]

Re: Imagine This

Explosion events may be set back, but if you could "positively" remove drugs from the sport, I don't think you'd see a huge change in performances. Shaheen, Bekele, etc., these guys are products of their environments and coaching -- not drugs. I still expect these (and other) clean athletes to rewrite the 5000/10000/marathon records in the coming years.