Tainted glory--doping and athletic performance.

Is it possible for the “natural” athlete who competes without chemical assistance to achieve record-breaking performances in sports requiring strength, power, speed, or endurance? Because doping tests are infrequently positive in international sports, it has been widely believed that the answer is yes — and that few athletes competing in major sporting events, including the Olympic Games and the Tour de France, use performance-enhancing drugs. But multiple sources of evidence, including personal testimony 1,2 and an ever-increasing incidence of doping scandals, suggest the opposite: that widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs has fundamentally distorted the upper range of human athletic performance. 1,3-5 Unfortunately, a global code of silence has kept the problem hidden from public view. 4,5