The Disgrace Of Sport: Performance-Enhancing Drugs Or Performance-Degrading Beliefs?

Why is it that when an athlete provides us with a great performance, the first response is almost always cynical. “He/she must be juiced” tends to be the first statement uttered by many. It is a sad reflection on our culture when that is the first belief espoused.

You know what? I am fed up with the cynicism. Frankly, the whole “performance-enhancing drugs” schtick needs to stop.

At one time, it was believed that a human would not break four minutes for the mile, or 10 seconds for the 100 meters. While we’re at it, how about the 2 hour marathon barrier?

But a funny thing happened along the way. Many of these barriers have been broken – repeatedly. And drugs are not even a part of the equation.

Take the 4 minute mile barrier as an example. It was a strongly-held belief – until Roger Bannister blew it apart. Once that was broken, and it was then acceptable for an athlete to truly believe that it could actually be attained, it was broken by a number of people in rapid succession. No screams of “drug cheat”, either.

Jim Hines broke the 10 second barrier in the 100 meters. Usain Bolt is now pushing 9.5 seconds and beyond with no perceived barriers in sight.

There is a belief that all great human performances are drug-induced anymore. Sport is awash with cynicism. Can you really win 7 Tour de France titles without drugs? Can you ever break 755 home runs without drugs? Can you really break 9.5 seconds in the 100 meters without drugs?

Yes. You can.

It is a false assumption that drugs are the key to human performance in sport. It is a false assumption that athletes are already training optimally and that the only way to get that extra “edge” is to take drugs. We have become a culture of “performance-degrading” beliefs. If you don’t think you are good enough, you certainly won’t be.

In a sport-science-based training world, we have yet to see the limits of human performance. For every perceived positive of “performance-enhancing drugs”, there is the “performance-limiting” negative side that is conveniently ignored. For every injection of EPO, there is the thickened blood that is harder to pump. For every injection of anabolic steroid, there is the diminished immune response which limits training adaptations. We choose to ignore the placebo effect, something that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt has an impact on most of us. Get that special injection, get stronger, believe it to be so.

The disgrace of sport these days isn’t about performance-enhancing drugs. It is about performance-degrading beliefs – in the athlete, the coach, and the general public.

I for one stand on the premise that we have yet to get anywhere close to the limits of human performance attained solely by training and recovery, by sport psychology, and by hard work and appropriate rest and nutrition. The sport sciences – not pharmaceutical science - will lead us to the promised land. There will be a time when people will realize that performance enhancement comes through better sport science. When that becomes the predominant belief system in sport, we will see some amazing performances.

Photo credits:Wikipedia