Enhancing The Gold

The current spate of broken records in Beijing is great for ratings on TV, and it's a boon for the Olympic planners who have been seeking to revitalize the Games.  But in all likelihood, it is coming with a price that will have to be paid at some future date.  This price could be a tarnished image for the IOC, or it could be in the form of some physical difficulties for certain Olympians as a result of behaviors which are designed to help them achieve their goal - a Gold Medal.  The behaviors in question, of course, would have everything to do with some form of "juicing", or steroid use.

It's very unlikely these records are falling due to superior physical conditioning on the part of the average athlete.  This doesn't mean they are all engaging in some form of doping, some of these athletes certainly eschewed that avenue toward achieving their reward.  But for those that embraced it, the Olympics simply represents a massive, and uncontrolled, test of medications.  There is no research to show what long term complications could result from the use of steroids and other physical enhancers, and the athletes are playing with time bombs by using them.  But in this world where every athlete is chasing the endorsement, it is assumed that using your body as a test facility is worth the possibility of cashing a big paycheck.

Unfortunately, this is NOT the spirit of the Olympics.  While the Libertarian streak in me says "sure, if they want to do this with their body, who am I to stop them?"  But the spirit of the Olympics is one of honesty, fairness, strength, and honor.  Is it fair for one to dope while others don't?  Is it honest, given that doping is grounds for dismissing results?  Is it a true test of strength if an athlete trained very hard, but got over the plateau with a little extra shot of something?  Is it honorable to use your body as a test facility?

There is little question that doping is taking place.  Those in the know snidely comment how the "key" is to keep changing the medication so that the masking stays ahead of the testing in place.  Knowing how the testing is done allows them to stay ahead of the curve and thus avoid getting caught.  In addition, refinements to various steroids allows them to be modified just frequently enough to avoid being either caught or considered "illicit".  It's a fine line, but it's one that is readily crossed by athletes seeking their dream.

The best way to eliminate this?  Remove all endorsements from the Olympics.  Unfortunately, this can never happen because the cost of the Olympics is so high, endorsement deals are the only way to keep athletes training, and allow the Games to be held with a level of pageantry that "ooos and aahhhs" the average person.

I had lost alot of interest in the Olympics since 1980.  I rarely watched them, and when I did I was usually only watching in short spurts.  I wasn't alone, either, because ratings have declined.  This year, however, I've regained some interest, and it seems others have too.  NBC is doing very well with their ratings, selling an additional $25mm in advertising due to increased ratings over 4 years ago.  But, despite the renewed interest, I'm still not a huge fan.  Mainly because the Olympics aren't what they were 28 plus years ago.  Back then, the primary steroid users were Eastern European nations, who coincidentally were also the only professionals.  Now they are all professionals and a large number are on steroids. 

The glimmer is off the gold, for me.  At some point, as more athletes are finally outed as dopers, the IOC is going to face the unfortunate truth that they are far too lax in their approach toward policing and enforcing.  At that point, it may not matter.  Marion Jones' loss of her gold hasn't caused anyone to stop caring about the track and field events.  As long as the IOC can keep these admissions from being public for a long period of time, they will avoid the loss of fan support and can continue on their merry way.

Unfortunately, there is really no good way to stop this behavior until the IOC decides to take it seriously and expel the big names who are drawing people in.  This is a highly unlikely scenario.  But I believe it is one which, if done in a massively publicized fashion, would change the Games for the better.