Marion Jones, Barry Bonds are among the list of admirable athletes that have tested positive for performance drugs. The Olympic games, aren’t they the best athletes in the world? Shouldn’t we look up to them as role models? It is unfortunate that so many of them have fallen into the dark side of drug use. In today’s harsh reality it is hard to truly admire some when we know it is not always just the athletes themselves competing, but combined with some assistance. Many elite, respectable athletes have taken performance enhancing drugs and it has become even more apparent in the last few years.Competing professionally and at the college level can be very overwhelming. The advantages of being a respected athlete brings with it much stress and hard work. With influence from coaches, teammates, and themselves, athletes feel they always need to be better. They are never satisfied and are always looking for ways to improve and increase their performance.
With so much pressure in sports, athletes feel like they have to do more than what they are physically capable of doing to prepare for competition. Maximizing workouts, following strict diet plans, and mentally preparing are not enough these days to keep up with the level of intensity it is at. Athletes feel pressured into trying anything that will benefit their game.
Our bodies can naturally only get so big, strong, and fast that they eventually reach a physical plateau. It is hard to see any big improvements and becomes more about maintaining physical strength, rather than increasing. It is our body’s way of saying they have taken enough or reached maximum capacity. But that does not satisfy most athletes in todays field of sports. So, that is when steroids and other physically altering drugs come into use.
In this generation, with the world of athletics becoming so overpowered by steroids and other performance drugs, athletes feel they have to "give in" to be on a level playing field with everyone else. Not to say that in anyway is that a justifiable reason for taking any sort of drug, but it’s just the reality of it. In truth to keep up with the high level of competition, one who is naturally trained, can’t compare to those that are naturally and chemically prepared. It is very sad that this is what sports are coming to and how it has changed tremendously from what it use to be. Also, to think that all these fit, healthy athletes would hurt their bodies like they do with these drugs. Sure their is a short lived advantage for them, or so they want to believe, but in reality the long term effects have lasting consequences. Steroids and other drugs have horrific results, possibly death. The outcome isn’t worth the price they pay when dealing with steroids.
If you look at different records in sports from previous eras contrasted with the records of today, it is a drastic difference. Race times cut, baseball homerun records smashed, league leaders and season totals always getting better. Every sport is affected by changing times and every sports has transitioned from past eras. Along with new times comes new technology, knowledge and research. This creates the most efficient and up to date workouts, training, supplements, and diets for athletes. But unfortunately also shows how much drugs have influenced and impacted the performances of many of todays athletes. It probably seems like I’m accusing all athletes today are druggies which is far from true. I know most athletes do work very hard to get to their success. Just like with everything else, it is the few bad ones that ruin the reputation for everyone. Unfortunately, it is now a stereotype that any good athlete, must have taken steroids. It is a bad reputation that has been created, especially for the true athletes, which is most that work hard for everything they have earned.
Is it because people are becoming more lazy and don’t want to work as hard? That they have to rely on drugs to help them compete? Is it taking the easy way out? Whatever it may be, it is a huge problem today that affects all aspects of sports and takes away from what they use to be.
It is fairly recent that the steroid fad has become popular. Yes, there are random drug tests and ways to detect use, but unfortunately not enough of it. Or it comes out too late, like previously in the olympics and the final results are effected and have to be corrected.
I wonder if drug induced athletes feel like anything less or that they are cheating themselves out of their own success. Once caught or tested positive, it will never be lived down and even if you continue to compete with your own physical strength it will be hard to overcome your previous reputation. Sure there are "legal" forms of performance enhancing assistance, not necessarily drugs. Such as blood doping and creatine. Things that our body naturally produces, but in higher quantity can improve your game even more. No matter what it is or how you categorize it, they are all additives to your body. Yes, some are not as bad as others, but it is still taking away from your own physical capability. Whatever happened to the good old days when steroids or other drugs weren’t even an option?
