The Enhanced Games are a “risky event for the safety and health of athletes”. Thus the International Federation of Sports Medicine (Fims) expresses, in a note, firm criticism of the organizers of these activities, citing, in this regard, what was published in an article which appeared today in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. In fact, Fims underlines that it is firmly against Enhanced Games which continue to not distance themselves from the use of prohibited substances. At stake, according to specialists, is “the very health of the athletes which risks being compromised both in the short and long term”. In the article, Fims says yes to medical screening planned to confirm athletes’ suitability to compete at the Enhanced Games, but warns that no current medical screening can truly guarantee athlete safety or mitigate the potential health risks of substances prohibited.
“Fims’ priority – states Fabio Pigozzi, president of the Federation – is to safeguard without exception the three key principles that underlie the medical assistance of athletes: scientific analysis, study of the individual’s physical condition and health protection. These principles are inconsistent with the current Enhanced Games philosophy. Furthermore, our concern is that young people are exploited in the search for fame and fortune and end up being fascinated by rich new events.”
According to specialists, despite the opposition of many in the global sports movement, the Enhanced Games are likely to go ahead in some way, given their financial support, contributing, perhaps unintentionally, to the fight against cheaters using banned substances to excel in sports. If it were in fact possible to carry out doping controls for research purposes, this new type of game could be used by the anti-doping experts themselves, with the appropriate informed consent of the participants, to better understand the life cycle of different substances and/or methods and their effects on health and elite performance. Anti-doping organizations equipped with this information could then develop smarter and more direct ways to detect drug use in sport and better inform athletes about the potential harmful health effects of using prohibited substances. This remains a strictly scientific evaluation which cannot in any way override the ethical principles of sports medicine and on which Fims has based its history.
“Our priority – underlines Yannis Pitsiladis, Chairman of the Fims Scientific Commission – is to protect the health of athletes and promote fair and inclusive sport. We are at the forefront of innovations in sport and therefore do not oppose advances in sports organisation, technology and medicine. But only if the health of the athletes is protected – he concludes – every form of cheating is rigorously repressed and the ethical principles that are the basis of the Olympic movement and world sport are respected”.
The Enhanced Games project plans to organize annual games starting from 2025, with five different disciplines (athletics, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting and combat sports) and the possibility for competing athletes not to be subjected to the rules and to the anti-doping controls required by Wada, the World Anti-Doping Agency, and by the various national federations. Therefore to be able to use prohibited substances before and during competitions, such as anabolic steroids, which help the growth of muscle mass.
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