That Was Then, This Is Now: Athletes Compared

MSNBC ran an article which asked "How far can athletic performance go?"

I became interested in this article because of the fact that it attempted to explain why elite athletes continue to break records which in the past had seemed to be unbreakable. For example, Roger Bannister running the mile in under four minutes back in 1954 or Eric Heiden's five gold medals in speed skating in the 1980 Olympics. These were remarkable feats by gifted athletes yet not so remarkable by today's standards.

The simple explanations given are the safe ones. Things such as improved technology, advanced training techniques and a larger group of people having become interested in sports are mentioned as the reasons why today's athletes are almost superhuman compared to individuals from the past decades. Some sports science experts also claim that there are no known limits to the human body and that with advanced training techniques the body can overcome any limitation, it is a claim which I find to be preposterous.

Granted, there are many areas in which speed and endurance have been improved upon through the use of new technologies, better training and diets and having a larger group of individuals to draw upon but why did the author of this article choose to ignore the very real and widespread use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs? Athletes at all levels, from high school through professional sports are now using all manner of drugs in order to become stronger, faster and more competitive. It does a great disservice to athletes from the past to merely dismiss the fact that their great records have fallen simply because today's athletes are better equipped and trained.

It was not always the case but for the most part, in the past, athletes competed for the love of the game and to push themselves to their natural limit. But now, it is about the money and endorsements. There are fewer and fewer athletes doing it for the competitive spirit and this is why you are seeing so much emphasis on the use of drugs in sports.

What was a greater feat, Roger Maris hitting 61 home runs using his natural athletic ability or people like Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds shattering that record with the help of performance enhancing drugs? Athletes today are evolving into mere entertainers, albeit highly paid entertainers and in the not to distant future I predict that most sports will become about as authentic as professional wrestling.

We should just close down the various hall's of fame and record books because with all of the various forms of cheating going on today, these new records are becoming meaningless. Comparing a modern athlete with his or hers counterpart from the past is much the same as comparing a NASCAR car to one coming off the showroom floor.