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Competitiveness is another greatly increasing factor in
the Games. Whilst this has provided a greater spectacle
for those watching the games, it can have adverse effects
on athletes that find themselves under undue pressure.
Pressures
on Athletes
 The
Olympic Games are the most competitive sports. The pressures
on athletes are huge. Success is always linked with income
of athletes. They have huge pressure to secure sponsorship
and media attention.
Athletes who cannot win medals or
have bad media coverage is not an ideal role model to sponsors
and do not attract sponsorships. Very often, the training
expenses of Olympic athletes come from their sponsors.
Although this usually means that athletes are more determine
to win, hence the increase of competitiveness, many athletes
might turn to performance-enhancing drugs.
Drug abuse and testing in Modern Olympics
The use of performance-enhancing drugs is banned because:
- It defeats the Olympic ideal of fair play
- It can adversely affect the health of the athlete who
uses it.
The first drug testing was conducted in 1968. In Modern
Olympics, athletes who gain the first four places have to
undergo drug testing.
Even with the huge effort the IOC has put into anti-doping,
drug abuse is still a problem and some athletes even tried
to get away by using 'natural' food supplements like turtle
blood and sleeping in oxygenated tents.
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