Ian Francis
Mr. Calvey
WRT 102-65
3-19-09
RA Topic Proposal
i.
Mechanical doping in sports
a.
There have been many tremendous leaps in the realm of sport science. These
have come both with sports specifically in mind and with the application of
technology from other industries to sports. In the past decade we have seen the
creation of a series of swimsuits that mold an athlete’s body to the perfect
aqua-dynamic form while having a drag coefficient
that is significantly lower
than skin. Time trial bicycles have gone from indistinguishable from any other
bike to being wind tunnel tested by NASA. These are just two examples of
many from a variety of sports. The question is where do we draw the line?
Alternately where does the progression of technology represent a departure
from the spirit of sports?
b.
Right now I plan on arguing against the use of these mechanical advantages. I
plan on arguing that they betray the true spirit of sports. Athletic competition
is about the comparison of the physical ability of a group of individuals. These
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- Spring '08
- Frost
- Law, Tour de France, Drugs in sport, Anabolic steroid
-
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