IndexPharmaceutical EnhancementA Case for the Legalization of Doping in Elite SportsConclusionPharmaceutical enhancement in sport is a widely discussed topic with arguments both for and against. Pharmaceutical enhancement is a specific form of enhancement in sport and is what I will limit my focus to due to space constraints. This article will examine the effects that pharmaceutical enhancement has on sports performance and the perception of athletes improving themselves. I will argue that pharmaceutical enhancement undermines sport as a test of natural ability. That by improving their performance beyond the genetic potential with which they were born, athletes undermine the challenge that sport presents to us and violate the “spirit of sport”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayPharmaceutical EnhancementPharmaceutical enhancement in sports dates back to the times of the ancient Greeks, where they consumed animal organs in order to gain a physical advantage. Recent high-profile cases such as the Lance Armstrong doping scandal have sparked debates about doping. The creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency in 1999 led to the formation of a prohibited list of banned performance-enhancing substances. If any of these substances are found in an athlete's drug test samples, they will have committed an anti-doping rule violation and face disciplinary action. Substances are placed on this list because WADA believes they produce "performance-enhancing effects." WADA believes that the use of banned performance-enhancing substances violates the "spirit of sport". They state that an important part of this spirit is the pursuit of excellence that is achieved by perfecting a person's natural talents. Many people support WADA regarding the ban on performance-enhancing substances, although some people think that this ban should be lifted. Savulescu is one of them and I will now discuss his views on the subject. A case for legalizing doping in elite sports Savulescu's article argues that performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) should be allowed in sport. Its aim is to demonstrate that biological enhancement does not undermine sport as a test of natural ability, nor violate the “spirit of sport”. Savulescu emphasizes that "the use of PEDs should not turn a race into a 'drug race' any more than different training methods would turn it into a 'training race' or 'money race'." This touches on the idea that “The same biomechanical processes targeted by doping substances and methods are targeted through training.” Training is by definition a way to improve a person's performance. If pharmaceutical enhancement undermines natural abilities, then it seems that Savulescu believes that training does too. He adds to this point by showing how there are three different ways an athlete can increase their red blood cell count. Two methods, altitude training and hypoxic chambers, are legal but the use of EPO is prohibited. There is no difference in results between the methods, but the pharmaceutical enhancement method is prohibited. Besides this he also states that “money buys success”. At the Athens Olympics the gold medals won by Australia “cost $32 million each” thanks to funding of $547 million. Its goal is to demonstrate with these facts that sports teams or richer countries are able to afford and “embrace strategies and technologies inaccessible to the poor”. This leads him to.