The Olympics have become one of the most heralded events on Earth - particularly the Summer Olympics. It offers host nations a chance to demonstrate their unique culture while also allowing some of the world’s best athletes to compete in an honest, fair competition.
At least, this is what the Olympics ideally stand for. The Rio Olympics? Maybe not so much.
“Ethically, it was a disaster,” says former Olympic swimmer Allison Wagner in an interview with me at Collision conference in New Orleans.
Granted, the Rio Olympics did a lot of things well. The athletes were safe, and the competitions went about as smoothly as anyone could have hoped for. It gave Brazil a chance to show it’s cultural density while also showcasing Rio De Janeiro, a popular tourist spot.
But one thing Rio missed the mark on was doping.
Doping has long been an issue in the Olympics - just ask Wagner, who has famously lost races to women that expected to have been doping with at least one case being proven.
One would expect doping to become less of an issue over time. After all, as science progresses and more resources are offered to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), doping should be a scar from the past.
Wagner sees it as getting worse in many ways.
An issue beyond cheating
Doping affects the Olympics in multiple ways. The most obvious issue that doping presents is that it ruins the integrity of sporting. When athletes travel from across the world to compete, they don’t want to lose to someone who is found to be cheating.
But the issue is much larger than just cheating. Doping is proven to be unsafe for many athletes. The chemicals that are in performance enhancing drugs can cause permanent damage to athletes, particularly as they start to age.
Also, doping hurts the fans of the sports, the athletes, and the Olympics.
Wagner pointed out the time she lost to the 1996 400-meter individual medley to Michelle Smith. Smith, an Irish swimmer, was later accused of doping. While there was no evidence to prove she had been doping the damage was done.
Smith, who was a hero in Ireland, was suddenly a bit of an embarrassment.
Of course, the damage also extends to the Olympics. When Russia was found to be sponsoring doping of their athletes, the IOC did nothing to stop it. This ruins the integrity of the competition.
Then there are the sponsors of the Olympics. Any blemish the Olympic experience is immediately transferred their sponsors. Sponsors expect a wholesome competition that brings the best out in athletes, not cheating.
“There are lots of victims in the world of doping,” explains Wagner.
The future of doping
Is the issue of doping going away anytime soon? Unfortunately, maybe not.
Wagner saw the negative attention surrounding doping during the 1996 Olympics and assumed that doping would become a thing of the past. “It looked like things would improve,” she says.
20 years later, doping is still afflicting the Olympics.
For those that want to see the Olympics clean of performance enhancing drugs, Wagner suggests any form of action. “There aren’t enough people speaking to the media about this,” she explains. While she’s a powerful voice against doping - largely because she has been a victim of dopers - she knows that her voice alone isn’t enough.
Wagner believes that if Los Angeles wins their current bid for the 2024 Olympics then change will start to happen. The US community wouldn’t stand for another nation sponsoring doping, and the IOC would be forced to take action.
If not, the US would take action of their own.
But securing another Olympic games in the US isn’t going to solve doping forever. More pressure needs to be put on athletes, and a better awareness of the negative effects of doping need to be more readily available.
All it takes is more people speaking out against it.