Ergogenic Aids

First off, I just wanted to say that I was really surprised to find out that Dr. Todd was into lifting weights and was in the Guinness Book of World Records. I just think that's pretty awesome because she was just doing what she loved! But anyways... Ergogenic Aids. Some people are really crazy to eat/inhale/inject all different kinds of things just so they can have better endurance or strength. Honestly, is it really worth cutting your lifespan short just so you can excel in a sport? I guess I can't really say I understand an athlete's point of view because that is their life, and what they do as a living so it must mean a lot more to them and obviously they would do anything to excel. In my opinion, each and every year, there is always going to be a new person who emerges in that sport becomes the new all-star. Granted they aren't going to be as experienced as someone who is older, but they will obviously learn from going to more competitions. I would understand how one would feel threatened when competing and they expect to win gold medals, but instead they end up losing to someone who is a couple of years their junior.

On the other hand, there are parents who are so desperate to live their life through their children that they lie and force them to take steroids. I remember watching an episode of Dr.Phil and it turned out that a father went as far as injecting his 13 year old son with steroids when he was competing in in-line skating. The full story can be found here. Already, one can see that that father doesn't have any morals to go as far as lying to his own son and inject him with "vitamins." As a child, you believe that you can do anything if you only put your mind to it. I have no idea what psychological issues that his son went through after getting disqualified from the event and also kicked off of his team when his goal in life was to become a speed skater.

It's also interesting to learn of how the U.S. government harvested people's pituitary gland from autopsies so that they could get Human Growth Hormones. The case where the girl was allowed to take HGH until she reached 5 feet, I think that it's a little unfair for her to be competing in cycling. Even though she took it so she wouldn't be short, she already has an unfair advantage over other at the age of 16. This isn't even an age where events are that serious about competition. Overall, I think many lines are going to be crossed when you allow people to take HGH, but what about those who are less fortunate? Are they going to have to suffer the consequences of the hand that's dealt to them when they are born or do we help them live a more "normal" life?