The Olympic games are one of the most watched sporting events in the world. It is an event that people from all over the world view, attend, and compete in. There was an estimate of 4.6 billion dollars spent at the last Olympics in Rio. For an even of this magnitude, one would think that the attention paid towards the athletes participating would be the most serious. Yet, there are still athletes who get away with doping or using performance enhancing drugs to excel in their events. (thesis) Recently we have noticed an incline in the number of athletes getting busted for doping. Not only does this let down the fans, but it is ruining the integrity of the event. Whether athletes are or are not using performance enhancing drugs, accusations are still up in the air for all competitors. For the athletes who are not doping, it is unsettling to know that their hard work and success is being undermined by speculation. For cheats who are doping it’s all about winning and not getting caught. There is the argument that in today’s world chemical enhancement drugs are mainstream, so in the sports world they should be more understanding. Speculation on athletes going as far as to endorse enhancement drugs, like if they were Gatorade, will be seen in the future. 

Competition in athletics is constantly rising and the pressure for participants to succeed in their events is becoming more intense. With this pressure to do well many athletes turn to an unfair system to give them an advantage—doping. Doping is when athletes use drugs that have beneficial affects. These drugs however are not for giving these participants a leg up, they are for persons that are ill. The drugs, depending on the type, are advantageous in various ways: boosting muscle grown, speeding up recovery, increases red blood cell production, etc. Although these drugs are legitimate drugs, the athletes are using them for illegitimate reasons. Doping gives the cheats an unfair lead over the clean athletes. 

Doping has been going on dating all the way back to the era of the Greeks. The kind of doping that we see today though started in the mid twentieth century. Soldiers would take amphetamines to overcome fatigue, athletes today do so for the same reasons. In Short terms yes, these drugs can help an athlete’s performance, but in long terms they do more harm than help. Knud Jensen, a Danish cyclist, died in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He collapsed during his race, the autopsy showed that the amphetamine in his blood was to blame. After this the drug regulations and testing amped up severely in hopes to put an end to doping. The short term benefits of these drugs are not worth the long term consequences. 

The athletes who are doping to get ahead in their events may think they have an advantage over other athletes, but it is the clean athletes who have the real leg up. Clean athletes have the International Olympic Committee on their side fighting to fish out the doped athletes. The IOC now retests previous doping samples; the second look is for catching athletes that slid under the radar. After the IOC uncovers athletes who were doping they then retest the athletes underneath those who would receive their medal as well— just for safe measures. The IOC’s mission is to protect the integrity of the Olympics and to do this they have to put an end to the cheats of the games. Other measures are being taken to protect the clean athletes as well, the IOC funds WADA, World Anti-Doping Agency, to collect intelligence and conduct further

Dick Pound, the chairman of the World Anti-Doping agency, is used to receiving criticism with his line of work but recently he has had it easy. In the past his allegations and claims have frustrated athletes and coaches. Coaches and athletes both share the fear of the topic of drugs in general when it comes to sports and constantly have to defend themselves against people like Pound. The recent uncovering of sprinter Justin Gatlin and cyclist Floyd Landist being found positive for doping has created a hush towards all comments towards Pound’s line of work. He is being admired for his uniform drug code that has been adopted by many countries. We need more people like Dick Pound to take the topic of athletes doping more seriously. This case just goes to show how necessary anti-doping agencies are in the world of athletics. 

investigations. There was a twenty-million-dollar fund from the US set up to protect the clean athletes. These measures are expensive and intricate, but this is the kind of steps needed to be taken to protect the clean athletes. 

Not only has doping put the athletes who use to shame, but also the other clean athletes who are constantly having to dodge accusations and speculation. In today’s competition, exceeding and being accused come in a pair. So many times we have rooted and celebrated with an athlete’s triumph, only to be let down when their doping scandal is released to the public. However, the athletes that do succeed with no help from doping stand out to the public and serve as true role models. Dara Torres, an Olympic medalist in swimming, is the perfect example of an honest, truthful, and competitive athlete. Torres, now 41, is faster than she ever was in previous Olympics—she even broke and set a new record. Of course at first glance there are fingers pointed at her and accusations thrown her way. Torres went out of her way to prove herself to the public; she offered herself up for every drug test available. The truth behind her success—her love for the sport. The example Torres has set should be one that other athletes follow. Her winnings go to show that you don’t need performance enhancing drugs to succeed. 

Some argue that it is not how the athletes get their skills or size but how they use it. 'As long as our players are bigger and faster than your players, we don't care,'' ( need to figure out how to correctly cite this). Jim Desanto compares the use of enchantment drugs by athletes is no different than the average person using Rogaine or Viagra, also a type of enhancement drug. Our society is one full of chemical enhancing drugs for what seems like every possible need one could imagine. John Hoberman, a performance enhancement expert, brings up the point that eventually punishing athletes for using performance enhancement drugs could be viewed as selective persecution. With drug tests being misread, or not accurate enough, and athletes sliding under the radar left and right, some think that the push for anti-doping in athletics will soon come to a hush. 