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PDHPE Task 3 Improving Performance
What ethical issues are related to improving performance?
Section 1:
1. Outline TWO physical dangers of performance enhancing drug use. (3 marks)
Excessive amounts of some performance enhancing drugs are toxic to the body and as they are
processed through the liver, the liver struggles to metabolise high doses used in steroids and as a
result causes damage to the liver. This can lead to long term liver damage including liver tumours
and hepatitis. Liver damage is a common physical problem seen in body builders and athletes that
use anabolic steroids such as oxandrolone for building muscle for strength and power.
Heart attack and stroke are an increased risk with the use of performance enhancing drugs,
especially with the use of erythropoietin (EPO) to enhance aerobic performance. EPO causes an
increased concentration of red blood cells/haemoglobin thus increased viscosity and therefore the
heart is required to pump harder to ensure the blood keeps flowing. This creates great pressure on
the heart and can result in heart attack or stroke. Use of other performance enhancing drugs
including anabolic steroids also place the athlete at an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
2. Justify why the use of drugs in sport is regarded as unethical (12 marks)
Drug use in sports has been around for many years and is becoming an increased issue as the
athletes’ desire and pressure to be on top has become enormous. Some of the most common drugs
used by athletes to enhance their performance include Human Growth Hormones (HGH) and
anabolic steroids for enhanced strength, erythropoietin (EPO) for improved aerobic performance
and drugs to mask other drugs such as diuretics. These drugs and others on the World Anti-Doping
Agency (WADA) enhance the performance, abilities and reduce time needed for adaptations to
occur during training, for example increased muscle size, blood concentration levels and ability of an
athlete to react to a stimulus. This raises many ethical issues associated with the use of these drugs
in sports.
Taking performance enhancing drugs creates inequality and an unfair advantage for some athletes.
For example studies have shown the use of EPO can increase an athlete’s performance by up to 20%.
This is a significant amount especially in endurance sports such as the tour de France where a 5%
increase in performance is the difference between 1st place and 145th. Performance drugs are usually
costly; those athletes that have the access and financial support to acquire the drugs will always
have an advantage over other athletes.
Not only are the drugs expensive, but the testing procedures need to be funded in order to ensure
that athletes are conducting themselves ethically.
“Sport is the only human institution based on idealism-it’s survived thirty-three centuries because of
that”. The ideal of sport is based on natural ability, not of one’s ability to acquire drugs or a
competition of which scientist can develop the best drug. Most sporting activities are built on high
ideals and ethics, and athletes within this should be respected as true athletes of the sport. However
drug use contravenes these ethics, it ruins the reputation and respect of the sport and of the
athlete.
Taking drugs is cheating everyone. Marian Jones won five gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics,
but was later found through testing that she was using performance enhancing drugs (steroids) and
stripped of her medals. This did not just affect her but she was part of a winning relay team, so her
team mates who put in all the hard work were also stripped of their medals and did not gain the
recognition they deserved.
Non-using athletes that are doing the right thing will be overshadowed by people trying to get to the
top, not matter the consequences. They will be obstructed from receiving the support and respect
that they deserve, and the right to compete on a level playing field. With drug use sport loses its
sense of true competition and victory, it reduces the validity of results, and records. It is not moral to
allow some athletes who use drugs to compete against those that put in the hard work to honestly
compete and strive for optimum performance.
These drugs also place a serious risk on the athlete’s health. Anabolic steroids and human growth
hormones are associated with heart, liver and kidney damage and problems, infertility, depression,
aggression, masculine features in women, bone, tendon, and other tissue problems. The use of
aerobic enhancing drugs such as EPO include side effects of thickened blood, headaches, joint pains,
chest pain, shortness of breath after intake, increased risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke.
Diuretics can cause dizziness, fainting, headaches, cramps, dehydration, heart and kidney problems.
Excessive use of these drugs leads to irreversible, long term problems and ultimately death. This
shows why it is important to deter athletes from using drugs. A US study in 2003 on wrestlers
showed that 25 out of 65 deaths of current or former competitors died under the age of 45 from
heart attack or coronary problems that were related to steroid use. There is some responsibility of
organisers/associations of sports to ensure the safety of their athletes; they must act ethically to
allow the athletes to perform at their best, while not endangering themselves or others.
Some side effects will not just affect the athletes, but can affect those around them as they can
become very aggressive and have mood swings. This can create issues within teams and poor
sportsmanship, putting others at physical and psychological risk. It creates a corrupt environment
contradicting the core values of sports.
Many of these drugs are illegal in society, highly frowned upon, and thus there are no regulations or
procedures that will ensure the safety of the athlete. If busted athletes lose respect and support of
society, lose endorsements, an income and can cause psychological problems from being banned
from a sport that has been a significant part of their lives.
Sporting stars are role models for young children and are essential for the promotion of sport as a
fair and prestigious profession. By cheating they are robbing themselves of esteem, and can cause a
deterioration of the reputation of a sport. “We must be jealous guardians of that ideal”, ensure that
our sports can remain a competition for humans natural capacity, held in high regard and be carried
on into future generations.
Thus as shown performance enhancing drugs use in sport is not ethical and therefor a need to ban
drug use is essential to allow a just competition true to the foundations of sport.
PDHPE Task 3 Improving Performance
Section 2:
3. Describe training innovations and equipment advances that have been introduced into
your chosen sport (4 marks)
Training innovations are becoming evident throughout many sports and among various levels of
competition or recreation. These innovations can be extremely advanced and specific for use by elite
athletes or general for most standard athletes wishing to improve; they have allowed athletes to
optimise their training, gaining most efficiency to achieve desired results. One of the most common
and significant innovation introduced into cycling are GPS devices which use GPS, heart rate
monitors and other sensor technology and provide information on position, altitude, heart rate,
speed, distance, time, cadence and power instantly to the athlete and this data can be uploaded
using specific software and then analysed. This is increasingly used in cycling and has become an
essential part of many cyclists training program, as it allows them to map their progress and
quantitatively compare their own improvements and also compare themselves to others who use
similar devices. Some examples of these devices include Garmin products as well as many iPhone
apps that enable users to upload to websites such as Strava.
With this ability of intensive computer analysis of the collected data specific and advanced training
can be designed for a particular athlete and ability to record measurable results to map
improvement and also predict the body’s ability to adapt and respond to certain stimuli. This
program can be uploaded to the device, allowing the athlete to receive instantaneous feedback
while training such as what heart rate zone they are working in, and receive alerts to help them
achieve the desired outcome. This technology also helps with preparation and recovery such as the
dietary requirements, and fluid needs. It allows for very specific analysis of biomechanical
movement in regard to technique, for example what riding style allows that athlete to exert and
most efficiently use power.
Equipment is an essential part to cycling for obvious reasons to enable participation and to ensure
safety. As technology develops equipment advances as a natural progression of the sport evolving,
and these advances have a significant influence on cycling. Most notably the introduction of carbon
fibre components including frames, handlebars, seat posts, drink bottle holders etc., weigh
significantly less than the previous alloy bikes. This allows the cyclists energy to be focused in the
movement of the bike therefore increases the efficiency of the cyclists efforts enabling them to go
faster and further. For example carbon fibre bikes can weigh less than 6kgs compared to alloy bike
that weigh more than 10kgs, which means 40% less energy is expended in overcoming the inertia of
the bike, therefore the cyclist is able to go further and faster. This can have a significant impact in
cycling, as many races come down to seconds between the first finishers and even a few hundred
grams less can make all the difference. For example Anna Meares won gold for Australia in the 2004
Athens Olympics by less than 0.2 of a second in the 500m time trial, showing how close it can get.
4. Evaluate the following statement, ‘Access to technology has created unfair competition’.
Give examples from a sport of your choice (12 marks)
Technological innovations has allowed athletes to receive direct and specific feedback, such as in
regards to technique, effort efficiency, lactate threshold, heart rate zones etc. either in competition
or during training. This has also allowed them to analyse their performance and then design specific
training programs and competition strategies that are of most benefit to the individual athlete.
Innovations have also enabled competition to be judged and recorded with increasing accuracy. The
difference between first and second can be so small that it is only through the use of the video
analysis and accurate timing methods that has enabled differentiation between the athletes. For
example many events at the Olympics and world championships have required close examination of
photos and footage to determine places, such as in the 2012 World Cycling Championships with
Anna Mears winning by only millimetres in the 200m and shaving 11 thousandths of a second off the
world record. Without advanced technology this would not have been possible to determine.
Advanced technology removes any human error, allowing timing and judging to be objective,
creating a transparent process/comparison of times. In this instance technological innovation
creates fairer competition.
Technology advances has been essential in ensuring the safety of the athletes, especially in cycling.
Cyclist can reach speeds up to 80-100km/hr going down mountains on narrow roads in large packs
with little protection in the case of a fall, which can lead to serious injuries especially to the head
causing brain damage or death. Cycling helmets have been developed and must follow strict safety
regulations and must be worn by all athletes and this has saved many cyclists from serious injuries.
Technology has enabled athletes and coaches to monitor heart rates, power exerted, calories
expended etc. and enabled the use of video and biomechanical analysis. These can assist with
developing and improving techniques, game tactics, fitness improvements and assist with recovery
strategies and reduce risk of overtraining and injury, all allowing the training effect to be of greatest
value. Some devices can be set up to provide instantaneous feedback and analysis of performance
such as heart rate while riding as well as information about the ride ahead for example knowing that
a hill is around the corner and the gradient and length of the climb. This information is provided
while competing, assisting them execute their strategies. This is of great advantage to the athlete,
however these devices can be expensive and not all athletes may be able to use such a device. This
puts them at a disadvantage to others with all the high tech gadgets, and thus creating an inequity in
the conditions of a race.
The materials used and the shapes of bikes has been rapidly developing recently with most
components made of carbon fibre, which weighs significantly less that previous alloy bikes(as
described in question 3). This technology however comes at a significant cost, depending on the
quality of the carbon fibre bikes often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars. Every year new and
improved designs are being released which means if athletes want to stay up the top with the best
equipment they need to be constantly updating. This is not possible for some athletes because of
the significant costs and limited access.
Often the latest and most technological advanced equipment is only made available to the most
elite athletes through sponsorship signings and endorsements, before other competitors. This
PDHPE Task 3 Improving Performance
creates an unfair advantage to those athletes with access and money and sponsorship. There is also
the associated psychological disadvantage of knowing that competitors may have better equipment
and that it is not completely dependent on physical capabilities. But this can also lead an athletes to
somewhat rely on technology instead of focusing of skill development. This means there is limited
availability of access to certain technology that is usually only offered to the most elite, well known
athletes, and this is not reflecting the idea of everyone’s in with as much as chance as the cyclist next
to you.
Those athletes who live in remote or certain areas have limited availability to the latest equipment
and are often months behind the best technology and therefore placed in an unfair situation. For
example in certain areas, especially in smaller Australian suburbs there is a limited range of
equipment or to cycle shops, which is usually only consist of older models, and equipment is more
expensive to acquire. These areas also to not have the support and expertise available to assist in
technical aspects such as getting fitted to a correct bike, how to compete, putting these athletes at a
disadvantage before they can even start.
Bikes are not only being made of better materials but can be made to fit certain body fits, and many
elite cyclists have the bike measured up specifically for them. This also comes at a greater financial
cost as the bike set up will be unique for that particular rider and must be designed specifically for
them. By having bikes set up specially for a particular athlete also means that they are comfortable,
with reduced risk of injuries and increased efficiency.
As the right equipment can make a significant difference and cycling is greatly dependable of the use
of equipment, this has led to inequalities present in competition. It is evident at many cycling
competitions the athletes with access to technology and money/sponsorship and hence the
technical edge they have over their competition. As each rider is riding a different bike the playing
field is not completely objective to just the natural ability of the athlete, it creates some unequitable
conditions and thus a somewhat unfair competition.
Some of the focus is taken away from the competition being solely dependent on the cyclist’s ability
and placed on who can develop the best bike and it becomes a scientific competition as well. It
raises the question of how far do we go before is a technological game. It takes away some of the
original motivation and spirit of the sport, it’s not fair that some athletes have better equipment
than others, and this seems unjust to compare their abilities when they compete on an uneven field.
These associated ethical issues require re-evaluation and resetting of regulations in regards to
equipment and techniques to ensure the competition remains as fair as possible. That each athlete
has equal conditions and chance to compete.
As shown above technology has made a significant impact on cycling and will continue to influence
the competition. Access to technology has come as a great advantage to all in regards to increased
safety to the athlete. It has also helped to make competition objective and fairer in regards to the
accurate differentiation of timing and rank. However with varying access to expensive equipment
with limited availability to athletes has created an unfair advantage to some athletes with an uneven
field of competition. Technology thus has its place in cycling with advantages to all, but must also be
regulated to ensure that all athletes continue to be motived and have the desire the be the best not
depending on whether they have the fastest and best equipment.