The Olympic Games are the oldest form of sporting competition, but as the competition grows more intense, an athlete’s desire to win can become greater than the willingness to win fairly. During previous Games, high profile cases of doping became headline news and the issue of drugs in sport became a common theme although, so far, the 2008 Beijing Games appears to have been stymied by fewer drug test failures among the competitors. Yet, during the build up to the Games the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport seemed to be ever more present in the headlines, for example the Dwayne Chambers case in the UK appeal courts just before the start of the Games.
A simple search on IBSS using the keywords ‘sport’ and ‘drugs’, returned around 50 results, relevant to the topic. As a starting point to explain the use of drugs ‘Doping and cheating in contest-like situations’, M. Krakel (2007) seeks to answer why people choose to compete fairly or unfairly. Krakel looks at three possible factors on the decision, drawing parallels between sport and business: the cost, likelihood of cheating improving chances of winning, and the possible effect on salary. Another result, ‘The Tour de France and the doping issue’, P. Mignon (2003), looks at why competitors may tend towards drug use, with the lucrative nature of sport appearing to make it a risk worth taking. An opposing perspective, that of how to ensure fair competition, is provided by Frank Daumann (2003), ‘Are there any good reasons for a law forbidding doping in sports?’ This argues that aside from aspects of public health, there is little that can be done at the government level to prevent doping from occurring, rather it is the governing bodies that should set the rules and the appropriate punishments.
If outside of random testing by sports’ authorities there is little that can be done, then it seems that we can only appeal to the competitors themselves. What about the ethical aspects of cheating in sport? A further search with the terms ‘Sport’, ‘Ethics’ and ‘Competition’ returns 34 results, of which the multi-authored monograph ‘Sports ethics: an anthology’, Jan Boxil (Ed.) (2003), contains several potentially useful chapters, including R.Simon, ‘Good competition and drug-enhanced performance’ and L. Morgan. ‘Enhancing performance in sport: what is morally permissible’.
With just a few more days of the Games to go, the low number of competitors disqualified for failing drugs tests is a positive sign. Hopefully, the Olympic ideals of ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’ will begin again be associated with fair-play.
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