As a U.S. House subcommittee delves into doping allegations against Chinese swimmers ahead of the Paris Olympics, debate intensifies over the boundaries of human achievement and the integrity of competitive sports.

The committee heard testimony from U.S. swimming gold medalists Michael Phelps and Allison Schmitt. The necessity for doping investigations raises the question of possible outcomes if it were legalized.

Every time the Olympics come around, they inspire great patriotism. People get to see incredibly talented athletes pushing the limits of what the human body can do. The games are almost always marked by investigations into athletes breaking the rules by doping. The use of performance-enhancing drugs in the modern Olympics is recorded as early as the games of the third Olympiad, when Thomas Hicks won the marathon after receiving an injection of strychnine in the middle of the race. It is correct to investigate and punish doping. This practice destroys the integrity of the sports that brought these athletes to their heights.  

However, what if we added another division? How fast could humans actually swim? How far can humans actually throw a javelin? It would be an event in which all people defy all perceivable limits and go for the maximum potential of the human body. 

This practice would provide better performances and higher records. Studies with the anabolic steroid androgen showed that even in doses much lower than those used by athletes known to dope, muscular strength could be improved by 5% to 20%. Imagine what people could do if we legalized the practice. Not only would it remove the practice from behind the scenes and away from the best doctors, but it would preserve the integrity of traditional sport. Allowing a separate event would be a viewer’s dream. After all, why do most people watch the Olympics? It is to watch people achieve unimaginable feats and root for their country. Now the people can lift more, run faster, and represent their countries. Why not legalize it if people had to opt in to participate?

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This would be a massive source of revenue for the International Olympic Committee, too. As it stands, the IOC sells broadcast rights for TV, radio, and new media. In the four-year cycle ending with the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, broadcast rights accounted for 61% of the IOC’s income. If the Doping Olympics, the “Dope Olympics,” if I may, were a separate event along the same lines as the current separation between the Olympics and Paralympics, they would create more opportunity to sell advertising revenue. 

This further deepens the benefit to society. The IOC is considered a nonprofit organization. It lists its mission as being “dedicated to using the revenue generated from the Olympic Games to assist athletes and develop sport worldwide.” It claims that “every day, the IOC distributes the equivalent of USD 4.2 million around the world to help athletes and sporting organizations.” Allowing doping would be a huge value add to that stated mission. It would certainly be entertaining.