The goal of competition is to win within the agreed rules and
guidelines for a particular sport competition. Unfortunately many
competitors are consequentialists. As long as they are not caught,
they will break rules in order to gain a competitive advantage.
Since the effects of blood doping can be reached through natural,
legal training it is extremely difficult to test for blood doping.
Some of this natural training includes training at altitude or
eating certain types of food including folic acid, iron and vitamin
B12(1). Blood doping could be considered by some athletes as natural
since the athletes recycle their own blood, or can use natural
hormones to trigger their bodies into making more blood. Even
when officials such as the IOC (International Olympic Committee)
find a potential violator, they are reluctant to charge the athlete
because of the fear of lawsuits. Punishment is often light and
temporary. For example, athletes showing abnormally high hematocrits
may be suspected of blood doping but since it can't be proven
conclusively, they are often put on a health suspension until
it would be safer for them to compete. This penalty would only
limit them from competing in that one competition but not from
other future ones. Since the testing isn't conclusive, athletes
who remain "pure" are at a huge disadvantage. The inability
to enforce the ban on blood doping for all athletes tarnishes
the value of winning an Olympic gold medal. Every winner, whether
pure or not, will always be speculated as a cheater even if they
did not use blood doping methods. This doubt has also led to rampant
accusations of blood doping. Any time an athlete wins now there
are accusations about blood doping.
Therefore the legalization of blood doping would give athletes
a fair field, in that no one would cheat and be able to get away
with it, as it is currently possible to do. Also legalization
would stop the random accusations of cheating and restore some
of the prestige of competition.
Footnotes:
1."Sports Doping Methods." Sports Doping.
13 May 2002. <http://www.sportsdoping.com/sportsdoping/methods.html>
