The Olympics have been bringing people of differen Essays - Sports

The Olympics have been bringing people of different backgrounds together for much longer than many people realize. The first ancient Olympic Games can be traced all the way back to 776 BC, when they were dedicated to honoring the Olympian gods. Centuries later, the Olympics were institutionalized in 1896, with a broader purpose of bringing people of different nationalities together in order for them to build meaningful relationships across borders and languages. More specifically, by bringing people closer and making the world a more united place, the International Olympic Committee now hopes to promote "a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." While these goals have been achieved to a limited degree since 1896, contemporary Olympics have largely failed to effectively promote these core values as players become more and more obsessed with winning and less with main taining the integrity of the Olympics. In fact, recent games show countless cases of blood doping, drug abuse, bribery within the IOC, and even outright cheating among the players. Clearly, these incidents are hardly representative of the core values of responsibility and respect the IOC is striving for, and it does not seem like this trend is going to decrease any time soon. In recent years, the number of drug abuse among the players have increased dramatically, bringing the integrity of the Olympics into question. According to the Smithsonian article, "The Top Athletes Looking for an Edge and the Scientists Trying to Stop Them," doping is nothing new to the Olympics. Even the ancient Greeks ingested special drinks to enhance their performances and it was not until 1960 when Daniel cyclist Knut Jensen passed out during a race due to drug-overuse that the Drug testing was established in 1968. In 1999 and 2000, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) were established respectively to oversee drug testing with the Olympic organizers. The original purpose of setting up this system of drug testing was to prevent athletes from overdosing to the point of fatal injury or even death. The IOC president Thomas Bach would say that this system is by and large working, with increased numbers of more rigorous anti-doping tests, acc ording to the Sydney Morning Herald. Bach even said the number of positive tests "is not really relevant" because he believes what really matters is that the athletes who abuse drug are being caught. However, from the perspective of the IOC president, it is hardly surprising that Bach would promote the drug testing system in a positive light. However, as Aschwanden points out in the Smithsonian article, the increased drug use is becoming a "high-stakes competition between Olympic athletes who use banned substances and drug testers out to catch them," which is most definitely not reflective of "social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." The simple fact that the drug tests even need to be continually fortified to prohibit unfair advantages goes against the core values the IOC hopes to promote, regardless of how effective the tests are. Furthermore, the credibility of the drug tests is not as strong as Bach states it is. As Aschwanden notes, offici als are reluctant to tarnish their stars so the governing body that oversees the drug tests might not always be rigorous about prohibiting drug use. This means the number of athletes caught with the drug test might not necessarily be representative of the athletes who actually use prohibited substances. Therefore, the questionable credibility of the drug tests, in addition to the continual fortification of the tests themselves, shows that the core values of the Olympics have not been in recent games. Additionally, the IOC that is supposed to work to promote its core values has also been deeply associated with rampant bribery that are not reflective of the organization's mission. For example, the Salt Lake City Olympic scandal in 2002 revealed that there were up to 16 IOC members who have been involved in the bribery for decades. According to the article "Olympic Games: IOC report shows decades of bribery,'" a confidential IOC report showed that Salt Lake City spent more than 400,000 pounds in