You're only cheating yourself..

Recently there have been a number of international bobsled athletes testing positive for banned substances.  It is hard to ever envision how one can convince themselves that taking a performance enhancing drug is first physically safe and second fair to the rest of their competition that chooses to compete clean.  I guess the lure of competing at the Olympic Games somehow allows athletes to forget personal morals and to cheat.  I have heard the argument before that athletes feel that in certain sports all athletes use performance enhancing drugs and it is a matter of who has the better drugs.  To me, I don’t believe this to be a valid argument, but instead an excuse and an attempt to justify cheating.

A friend of mine once did a survey where she asked people would you rather win and Olympic gold medal on drugs knowing you would never be caught or have a million dollars given to you?  Surprisingly most people answered they would rather win a gold medal.  It was shocking the lengths that people were willing to go for an Olympic medal.  To me, an Olympic experience or even an Olympic medal is not worth living my life knowing that I have played unfairly or have cheated.  I want to win knowing that I did it 100 percent out of blood, sweat and tears.  Even if that day does not end up happening for me I know that I am going to leave this sport with my morals in tact.