The dilemma of Australians striving for sporting excellence, and the temptation of PEDs

For an athlete, those who are near the top of their sport, there may indeed be a realisation or conclusion that any future progress can only come from illegal PED use.

With the microdosing of testosterone and EPO, both of which occur naturally in the body, it can be hard to catch those who have the knowledge to avoid the detection of such illegal substances.

Even if Bol was guilty of taking EPO, it is worth noting that 20 other tests since the positive one of 11 October 2022 were negative.

While it is great that testing is much more extensive these days around the world, with many Kenyan running champions caught in recent years, thus helping to create a more level playing field between western athletes and other nations with much less stringent testing regimes, the reality is illegal PED use could persist for some time yet.  

I too don’t like the reality that athletes still cheat, but an imperfect testing regime and fear that rivals are cheating helps explain why.