Need for a paradigm shift in anti doping strategies

With the emergence of genetic enhancement technologies that can be used on athletes, it is necessary to change our approach to anti-doping too.

According to Dr. Andy Miah from the University of Paisley, Scotland, and author of the book Genetically Modified Athletes, we need to radically alter the rationale of anti-doping policies.  

Current anti-doping strategies are based on avoidance of using certain prohibited substances.

Yet, Miah anticipates that such strategies will fail to meet the challenges of genetic alteration and other kinds of performance modifiers following in the wake of the diffusion of gene technology.

The WADA Code for instance says in that “the spirit of sport is the celebration of the human spirit, body and mind”.

Bearing that in mind, Miah says, sketching a future anti-doping approach which also encompasses genetic enhancement might require coming to terms with more essential questions such as:  

What does it mean to be human? 

What constitutes human flourishing in sport?  

In discussing these questions, the sporting community could establish a common framework where the distinction between what is seen as natural/human in sport and what is ascribed to technological enhancements would become explicit.

Another of the intrinsic sporting values mentioned in the WADA Code is ‘excellence in performance’. The value of a specific performance should be determined by the athlete’s efforts. Attention on the concept of being human could help identifying the athlete’s role in the performance in relation to the technology involved in the sport.  

It will not be an easy debate. The Olympic motto ‘Citius – Altius – Fortius’ (‘Faster – Higher – Stronger’) concisely expresses that sport is about expanding the range of what is humanly possible. The athletes are always looking to go further and extend the boundaries of human performance.

At the political level, however, sport has traditionally been rather conservative in terms of moral and ethics preserving ‘fair play’ and gentleman values as the right form of appearance.