The pressure to be the best is real in a world where individual brilliance is measured up against ones performance on the world stage. It’s been prevalent since the inception of sport and the way humanity conducts itself. We idolize sporting heroes and by placing them on pedestals we actually go far beyond the physical and transcend mental barriers, which can have a serious impact on a star athletes mind.
There’s always an edge in sport, whether it’s shaving one minute or one second off of your time; the game is cutthroat. Athletes feel a very really pressure to be the best that they can possibly be. The fame, the glory and the power make people hungry for the lifestyle and maintaining that lifestyle leads top athletes into the realm of temptation.
Modern breakthroughs in the medical world have provided athletes with better conditioning approaches, better exercise routines and supplements that allow for enhanced performance. Certain supplements are banned from the world of sports because of their power to help an athlete excel. The development of doping in sports stems from the beginning of sports itself. All athletes have been driven to extreme measures to prove themselves the best at some stage.
What Is Sports Doping?
Doping in sports is the use of banned athletic performance enhancing drugs by competitive athletes. There are various boards and organizations that monitor and control specific sporting disciplines and regulates the type of performance drugs that may or may not be used.
Athletes turn to sports doping because it provides them with an edge over their competitors. It is an attempt to overcome a physical limit with increased endurance and performance in order to claim victory in a certain sporting event.
Sports doping is highly illegal, the various monitoring bodies conduct random doping tests on athletes to ensure that all competitors comply with the anti doping regulations as set out by the monitoring body. Sports betting NZ sites will always keep tabs on doping scandals too, as they can affect the outxoes of wagers. If an athelte is caught doping they will be stripped of their title.
The Role Of Science In Sports
Sports science can only take the human body so far before it must stop and recover to go on before another session. Modern practices have allowed for increased performance from natural methods, which has propelled humans to their physical peak. There is one clear problem with this though, the limit is not enough and as athletes, we will constantly strive to break our own records.
Whether you use supplements or energy drinks to propel your physique to the next level, sports science has had a hand in shaping you. It’s not just all about the chemicals either; sports science has allowed for natural methods that enhance your capability as well as recovery time. These methods have been crafted from an applied scientific formula that studies human movement and aims to enhance it.
Is Doping So Wrong?
It’s a controversial issue that you may be asking yourself. Is sports doping so wrong? Is it not the athlete’s own ability anyway? If all athletes took the same enhancers does it not place them on a level playing field?
I honestly think that anti doping campaigns in sports is a good idea that protects the athlete and the associated discipline. There are major health concerns with certain performance enhancing drugs and if all athletes went around taking these drugs we may not have many athletes left.
The world of sports should be based entirely on your body’s natural ability. We aren’t super humans and I believe that we should act accordingly. Sports is a high paying job, and like any open position the candidate that fills the role should be picked on merit over and above any special treatment.
Biggest Doping Scandal Remembered
Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France cycling epic a record seven times. Armstrong wore yellow consecutively for seven years from 1999 to 2005. What made his story even more exceptional is that the professional cyclist battled against cancer and beat it with the power of his body and mind.
He was praised and assured a place in the history books, but that was all set to change. Armstrong came out and openly admitted to doping in the cycling tour. It was one of the biggest doping scandals the world had ever seen and shook the cycling world. It destroyed his credibility and left him with little to nothing.
There are many undercover stories like this and athletes need to take a moral stand. Stand together against doping for a better sporting culture and world, where professional athletes can simply compete rather than feel pressured by society and science.