Swimmer Dara Torres is an extraordinary athlete. The possibility that a 41-year old mother can compete alongside the best elite swimmers in the world with a legitimate chance at winning a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics is nothing short of phenomenal. There is nothing – no news or revelation – that could diminish her achievements in my eyes.
Having said that, I am disappointed to see Dara Torres publicly assert her moral superiority over other athletes who use performance enhancing drugs. Torres comes across as disingenous if not hypocritical when she decries the lack of a conscience in other competitors who use performance enhancing drugs.
After all, Torres sought a diagnose of asthma approximately 18 months and petitioned WADA/IOC for a theraepeutic use exemption (TUE) that would allow her to use the performance enhancing drugs Proventil (albuterol) and Symbicort (formoterol). But Torres still has a moral conscience, its just the other swimmers who do not (“Torres: Too bad some athletes don’t have a conscience,” August 6).
Unfortunately that’s just the way the world is today and it’s too bad that some athletes don’t have a conscience and think it’s OK to do that and think that if they win or do well that they did it the right way.
“So, for those of us who have a conscience, we know we’re doing it the right way and there’s nothing you can do.”
Obviously, the right way involves the use of performance enhancing drugs with a TUE. The “right way” also involves her use of the controversial Speedo LZR Racer swimsuit, which has been likened to “technological doping,” during her comeback.
Dara Torres occupation of the moral high ground comes across as an affront to her former Olympic teammate Jessica Hardy. Hardy was kicked off the U.S. Swim Team and disqualified from the 2008 Beijing Olympics for using a drug that is very similar to the performance-enhancing drugs used by Torres. The culprit in Hardy’s case, clenbuterol, belongs to the same class of long-acting beta-2 adrenergic agonists (LABAs) as Torres’ albuterol and formoterol.
I have no problem with unhealthy athletes using performance enhancing drugs. But if we allow some athletes to use PEDs, we need to allow all athletes to use PEDs, including the healthy ones.
Torres’ use of LABAs represents the “right way” to use performance enhancing drugs. Hardy’s use of LABAs represents the “wrong way.” This is apparently a very important lesson in moral values to Torres.
Certainly, Dara Torres is following WADA/IOC rules. Her use of PEDs is sanctioned by WADA. Her use of the LZR Racer is sanctioned by WADA/FINA/IOC. But given the arbitrary and capricious nature of the WADA code, I hope Torres abandons her self-righteous stance and exercises restraint in passing moral judgments on her competitors.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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