Topic: News: Genetic Doping in Sports Becoming Common

[Chris Ⓐ LeRoux]

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Genetic Doping in Sports Becoming Common
Reporter: Michael Edwards

ELEANOR HALL: Some scientists are predicting that if genetic doping is allowed to continue unchecked, athletes will soon be running 100 metres in eight seconds and clearing three-metre high jumps.

But a conference in Sydney is being told that this brave new world could be extremely dangerous.

Genetic doping uses DNA fragments to change a person's genetic structure. It's already widespread particularly in endurance events like cycling.

Michael Edwards was at the conference in Sydney and filed this report.

SPORTS COMMENTATOR: And he's made the jerk and it's taken him back into the lead. Stefan Botev of Australia has just clean and jerked 250 kilograms!

MICHAEL EDWARDS: It's natural that athletes will break records and push the boundaries of human performance and endurance.

But in certain sports, some athletes rely on more than just hard work, talent and determination.

They resort to the illegal and dangerous practice of genetic doping.

ROBIN PARISOTTO: Genetic doping is doping that is… involves the manipulation of human DNA.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: Sports scientist Robin Parisotto is regarded as an expert, and today in Sydney he was addressing a conference predicting the trends that genetic-dope cheats are likely to follow.

Presently, athletes looking to cheat use human growth hormone, a substance produced by the pituitary gland.

The other way is the use of EPO, a hormone produced by the kidney.

EPO was at the centre of a doping scandal that rocked the Tour de France years ago.

Human Growth Hormone increases muscle mass and is used in power sports. Estimates vary as to its use.

ROBIN PARISOTTO: I mean, it depends what you read, who you talk to. I mean, some people say that in certain sports it's very clean. And in other sports like cycling, some will say it's 100 per cent doping.

Robin Parisotto say it's not only unethical, it's also bad for the body.

At this stage tests do exist but are often unable to catch offenders. Athletes and unethical scientists are constantly pushing the boundaries to gain an unfair advantage.

ROBIN PARISOTTO: History proves that they tend to remain a step ahead of the testers.

And whereas in the past they relied on drugs coming out that were legitimately developed for medical use, they now seem to be getting into the business of actually designing the drugs themselves, which is a big worry.

And it ups the ante now. The anti-doping testers have really got to think how the cheats think to get ahead of them.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: And the cheats are thinking. Genetic advances have already created super mice through the injection of viruses. The mice are twice as fast and twice as strong as the rest.

Robin Parisotto says as some stage an athlete breaking all the records, will benefit from this.

ROBIN PARISOTTO: The trouble with doping, a lot of it is underground and a lot of it is personal experimentation. And all that involves is acquiring the drug on the black market and trying it on for yourself.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: He says unethical researchers are finding better ways to hide genetic products.

ROBIN PARISOTTO: In the last few years there's been a case where athletes and coaches have conspired to actually design a drug, and that was brought out in the BALCO scandal in 2003 where the designer steroid THG was developed specifically for use by athletes.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: Olympic authorities are bracing for an onslaught of genetic cheats at the Beijing Games.

Robin Parisotto says there will always be cheats as long as the pressure remains on athletes to perform and the rewards remain high when they do.

ROBIN PARISOTTO: And if that's the case, if society's morays ethics predict that or approve genetic technologies to improve the human condition, then society, you know, is threatened and because of that, sport is threatened.

MICHAEL EDWARDS: So what are we talking about? Eight-second 100 metres?

ROBIN PARISOTTO: Yes, that's not an impossibility. We're talking probably two-and-a-half, three-metre high jumps. We're probably talking about 120-metre javelin throws… a three-minute mile, perhaps.

ELEANOR HALL: Robin Parisotto is a sports scientist and he was speaking to Michael Edwards at that Sydney conference.