Genetic doping

iainf72

Interesting comments in this blog about genetic doping.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/2006/12/15# ... mpics_2006

The only place I'd think he might have it slightly wrong is state sponsored programmes could get brilliant minds working on it for athletes rather than the good of man.

dave_1

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by iainf72</i>

Interesting comments in this blog about genetic doping.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/2006/12/15# ... mpics_2006

The only place I'd think he might have it slightly wrong is state sponsored programmes could get brilliant minds working on it for athletes rather than the good of man.


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That's an interesting article Iain. I suppose the real problem is that if you add up the the $ value of corporate sponsorship of the top 20 teams, the $ value/market share etc of what a corporate like T mobile or whatever brand gains via a TDF winning team , add in rider salaries, bonuses etc for wins for the top 200 pro tour riders , it comes to millions of $$$s more than the salaries of a few scientists in a lab in Paris, hence the large number of Doctors willing to go into the unethical side of the sport, and especially when you add the in that the riders who are so driven to win for non finacial reasons like any sportsman, have therefore no judgement on ethics, fairness. This is why doping is one heck of a hard battle. The whole system is against clean sport...look where the money is

john_stevensonpro

Or, as I get rightly accused of saying far too often: you can't stop people taking drugs for fun, how can you ever hope to stop them taking drugs for money.

The drug war in sport is unwinnable. It's time to try something else.

dave_1

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by john_stevenson</i>

Or, as I get rightly accused of saying far too often: you can't stop people taking drugs for fun, how can you ever hope to stop them taking drugs for money.

The drug war in sport is unwinnable. It's time to try something else.
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Something else? No way would any sane parent allow their children near some dreadful unregulated doping sport..like cycling in the 1990s was. liberalisation of doping would end bike racing and isn't ever likely to be considered. I think it's time the UCI or WADA scientists were assigned to each pro tour team during the season rather than the anti doping work being kept in house. With proper funding for the anti- doping science, it is quite possible to catch them out. Floyd's being done, Tyler, Millar, Gonzalez...been done, the big names Ullrich, basso have been severly damaged. Doping doesn't pay...and that's surely the message the riders are now getting. The authorities do catch up with most

Grumpy Bob

Dick Pound's new book is really quite interesting, especially on his motivation, the history of WADA, and the way "big sports" such as football, American football, baseball etc avoided dope testing for so long. Many sports still do.

John says "It's time to try something else." I would be interested to hear what he suggests.

Robert

Grumpy Bob

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, Verdana" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by iainf72</i>

Interesting comments in this blog about genetic doping.

http://johnhawks.net/weblog/2006/12/15# ... mpics_2006

The only place I'd think he might have it slightly wrong is state sponsored programmes could get brilliant minds working on it for athletes rather than the good of man.


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I started to switch off from that blog after the "I believe Landis" bit, and the remarks aimed at discrediting the tests.

Interestingly he doesn't pick up on the error in the bit he quotes. The engineered viruses used for gene therapy are not inherently safe - some unfortunate events have followed attempts to cure genetic disorders by viral mediated therapy. If gene doping hits the mainstream I think we are likely to see some unfortunate side consequences to the treated athletes - not necessarily in the short time frame of the athlete's competitive career but later.

Robert