MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Holding a "Steroid Olympics" is a bad idea, as it would only serve to compromise the health of athletes and lead to a generation of drug addicts, Vitaly Smirnov, an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), told TASS on Friday.
The Enhanced Olympics event, which Smirnov referred to as the "Steroid Olympics," is a proposed annual international multi-sports event that allows its participants to compete using performance-enhancing substances and never be subjected to doping tests.
"The war against doping abuse is eternal, but allowing athletes to compete while doped up is akin to murder," Smirnov said in an interview with TASS. "If the same financial reward is offered to athletes who compete on steroids, it will kill them."
"Where do you draw the line - Today it’s one dose, but what about tomorrow? No way, all it will do is give birth to a generation of drug-addicts, whose genetics will be altered," he said.
"Moreover, the ways of detecting doping abuse in sports are getting more sophisticated with each passing day," Smirnov noted. "This ‘tug-of-war’ will continue, but it’s necessary."
Australian businessman Aron D'Souza and PayPal founder Peter Thiel proposed holding the Enhanced Olympics last year, and the media ran with the idea.
The first Enhanced Olympics were planned for this year, but as of now, there is no information about where and when it will take place.