Natural Ability ++

Tiger Woods has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. A carefully crafted sculpture has been turned into an effigy. One of the less intriguing dirt dug-up on the golfer is the revelation that he might have undergone a "blood spinning" procedure. The procedure itself is not banned by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) as it is claimed only to help athletes recover from injuries, but the question is if it constitute an unfair advantage.

In the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, the story of Oscar Pistorius, a South African sprinter came to light. Although he couldn't qualifying for the event, even if he did he might not have gone to China. That's because Oscar doesn't have feet of flesh and bone, he has carbon fibre prosthetic ones. IAAF, the governing body for athletics did not know what to do in the case and were only spared by the fact that he marginally missed qualifying for his national team.

IAAF's predicament is understandable. It was a situation where for once inferences are stumped by completely alien circumstances. It is interesting how we condemn authority figures (in this case, IAAF) for holding hypocritical views while our own views in private are no different. No one in all honesty expects a man with artificial legs to be a match for the real deal.

The real problem is with the notion of fairness. Boxing divides fighters into weight categories to adhere to the principle of a "fair fight" but some boxers have a greater natural reach than others. As technology improves while we hold on to our archaic egalitarian ideas, the future in sports could see procedures to lengthen limbs or reduce pain. Already there are stories of baseball batters getting eye surgeries done to enhance vision.

The Amateur Sports Movement with its "sports for the sake of sports" has long since reached its demise. Now as professional sports merges with entertainment the rewards for performance come from outside the sporting fraternity. Such rewards sometimes may not honor the same qualities that sporting peers approve of. Therefore for the sake of the viewing public (and their money) sportstars of tomorrow will have to botox their abilities even if it shames them.

More Links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/dec/16/tiger-woods-dr-anthony-galea
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/15/sports/othersports/15runner.html
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19971024/REVIEWS/710240303/1023
http://www.ossur.com/?PageID=13462
http://www.time.com/time/reports/heroes/foot.html