Comments on: Where Do We Draw the Line on Performance Enhancement?

By: Hizouse

Hizouse — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:56:28 +0000

So: what about eye surgery giving a player 20/10 vision? And we’ve already heard of kids trying to have TJ surgery because they think it will add a few mph to their fastballs. Are these things any less artificial than the prosthetics? I guess those don’t introduce or attach any outside materials, but what if instead of using a tendon from the leg they used a state-of-the-art plastic tendon (if such a thing exists)? And Nike already makes some type of special contact lenses for sports; what if these were permanent implants?

By: Marc Schneider

Marc Schneider — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:23:29 +0000

The issue is whether these devices give the athlete skills he or she did not have before. If the Bionic Woman is suddenly a world class sprinter after never having been able to run fast, that’s a problem. If it simply allows the athlete to compete in the way he or she would have before the loss of limb or whatever, I have no problem with it. It’s similar in a way to when Adam LaRoche started taking ritelin to address his ADD and his performance improved. I have no problem with that because it didn’t really enhance his ability, it simply allowed him to compensate for a physical disability and enabled him to perform at the level to which he was capable. It didn’t give him an unfair advantage because he was no better than he would have been had he not had ADD.

By: JC

JC — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:57:11 +0000

Efficiency refers to the ability to transfer oxygen into output. It does not mean being able to perform on the same output level as an athlete. From the article:

Brueggemann said this did not necessarily translate to a general advantage. But he did establish that this “different kind of locomotion” was also more efficient from a physiological standpoint.

“In the 400 meters, he was able to run at the same speed as the control subjects, but his oxygen intake was much lower,” he said.

By: tangotiger

tangotiger — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:48:34 +0000

What if it allowed to perform with equal efficiency to Gretzky, Jordan, or Ruth? My opinion is that once it becomes a part of you, it’s you, and you can’t be discriminated on that basis.

By: JC

JC — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 13:49:56 +0000

I doubt many athletes will begin sawing off their limbs soon; although, there is some evidence that beggars do this in India to increase their income.

I talked to a colleague of mine who has written a textbook on biomechanics, and he says the issue of these prosthetics has been discussed for a while. They have devices now that allow athletes to perform at Olympic levels with much more efficiency than the human body. As a result, these devices do more than return athletes to an equal level. I am impressed that governing bodies are developing objective tests to find out how much help an artificial device can give. It seems that they would allow a prosthetic if it functioned with equal efficiency as the human body.

By: Mac

Mac — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 03:54:48 +0000

Well, you just know that people are going to be lining up to get their lower legs chopped off if they can win Olympic medals for it. I know that I'm planning to get my left arm removed at the elbow and replaced by a jai alai stick, then try out for the ~~Devil~~ Rays.