興奮劑是競技體育的必然產物
This time next year the 2016 Olympic Games will be in full swing in Rio. Whatever surprises the sport may throw up, one issue is bound to be in the headlines: doping. Even this summer alleged cheating by taking performance-enhancing drugs has rarely been out of the news. The latest furore surrounds hundreds of blood tests leaked from the database of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which some experts claim are evidence of widespread doping.
明年這個時候，2016年奧運會就將在里約熱內盧全面展開了。無論這屆奧運會將帶來何種驚喜，頭條新聞裏肯定少不了一個問題：興奮劑。就連今年夏天，有關運動員涉嫌服用興奮劑作弊的新聞也不絕於耳。最新的轟動是圍繞國際田徑聯合會(IAAF)數據庫泄露的數百份血檢結果，一些專家表示這是普遍使用興奮劑的證據。
Underlying the whole debate is a misplaced sense of moral outrage — a feeling that sport is intrinsically a clean contest between unenhanced athletes, being corrupted by evil drug pushers. The reality is that ever since people began competing for athletic honour and glory they have been willing to improve their speed, strength and accuracy in any way they can. Recently, the growing concentration of money and media attention on elite sports, together with the increasing opportunities to boost performance offered by science, has added to the pressure but not brought fundamental change.
整個辯論背後是一種錯位的道德憤怒感，以爲運動的精髓是一羣沒有服用過興奮劑的運動員之間進行的乾淨較量，只是被邪惡的興奮劑藥販子搞壞了風氣。現實是，自從人類開始爲了體育榮譽和榮耀而展開競賽以來，人類就一直願意以一切手段儘可能地提高自己的速度、力量和準確度。近年來，競技體育集中了越來越多的資金和媒體關注，再加上科技進步增加了提高成績的機會，這帶來了更大壓力，但並未帶來根本性改變。
Once we acknowledge that enhancing human capabilities is an integral part of athletic competition, then the authorities in each sport have to lay down rules and decide how to enforce them. First, they have to regulate the external equipment used, from racing cars to racehorses, bicycles to tennis rackets. This is far from straightforward. Usually, the aim is to smooth out the introduction of new technology, so competitors do not suddenly gain access to something markedly superior that would unbalance the contest.
只要我們承認提高人類能力是競技比賽的一個組成部分，那麼各項運動的官方機構就必須制定好規則，並決定如何執行。首先，他們必須規範運動員所使用的外部器材，比如賽車、賽馬、自行車、網球拍等。這絕不是件直截了當的事。通常情況下，這麼做的目的是公平安排新技術的引入，讓選手無法突然獲得技術上明顯領先的裝備，破壞競賽平衡。
Every sport needs equipment. Athletes and swimmers do not perform naked; what they wear affects performance. High-tech swimsuits to streamline the body have been particularly controversial. And the row over whether Oscar Pistorius, the South African double am , should be allowed to run against able-bodied athletes — if carbon-fibre prosthetic limbs gave him an unfair advantage — could be a foretaste of future argument about bionic implants.
各項運動都少不了裝備。田徑運動員和游泳運動員不會裸體比賽，而他們身上的穿着會影響成績。讓身體呈流線型的高科技泳衣尤其引起爭議。人們還討論是否應允許雙腿截肢的南非運動員奧斯卡皮斯托瑞斯(Oscar Pistorius)與那些身體健全的運動員同場競技，因爲碳纖維假肢可能給了他不公平的優勢，這或許預演了未來關於仿生植入物的爭執。
On the whole, however, regulating equipment is easier than controlling what competitors do to improve their own bodies through pharmaceutical intervention. People give two main reasons for preventing enhancement through doping. One is to stop athletes harming themselves. This argument only works to the extent that young or naive athletes should be protected from exploitation by coaches who push them to take drugs they know little about.
不過總體上來說，規範裝備還是要比控制選手們通過藥物干預提高體能要容易得多。在防止運動員通過興奮劑提高成績的問題上，人們給出了兩個主要理由。一是阻止運動員傷害自身。這種說法僅對下列情況成立：應當保護那些年輕或幼稚的運動員免遭教練利用，教練可能迫使他們服用一些奇奇怪怪的藥物，
If an informed competitor knowingly takes the risk, that is fair enough. Sports people already put themselves in danger both of short-term harm through accidents and of longer-term health problems, such as the increased risk of dementia through repeated head injuries in boxing and American football.
如果選手是明知故犯，那就沒轍了。運動員已經置身於短期和長期的危險中，短期的包括各種意外帶來的傷害，而長期風險是各種健康問題，比如在拳擊和美式橄欖球運動中運動員的頭部反覆受傷，這會增加老年癡呆的風險。
More complex is the second argument: that doping perverts the noble spectacle of humans competing on a level field — that it is not fair play. But opportunities are already unbalanced. Wealthy participants can access the full panoply of sports science, such as special diets and training that are not available to all. High altitude training (expensive but legitimate), for example, can give similar benefits to blood doping (illegal) for endurance athletes.
第二個理由比較複雜，用興奮劑作弊玷污了人類公平競賽的高尚場面；這種行爲意味着不公平競賽。但機會的天平已經失衡了。富裕的參賽者可以獲得體育科技的全套裝備，比如專門的飲食和訓練，這不是所有人都能得到的。再比如高海拔訓練（費用很高，但合法）可以爲耐力項目運動員帶來與血液興奮劑（非法）相似的好處。
Science will provide new opportunities for enhancement, from genetic engineering to bionic implants. Many biological molecules have barely been exploited in sport; for instance footballers could be given oxytocin, the “bonding hormone”, to intensify the co-operative spirit that teams need to win.
從基因工程到仿生植入物，科技將爲提高成績帶來更多新機會。許多生物分子幾乎還沒有開發過運動用途，例如可以給足球運動員催產素——“親密荷爾蒙”，加強球隊獲勝所需要的合作精神。
Without suggesting a pharmaceutical free-for-all, we can surely take a more relaxed approach to doping. Let us enjoy the coming year of sport and its Olympic climax without being distracted by moral outrage about cheating. I look forward to thrilling contests between the best natural athletes, enhanced by training — and science.
在不提議完全開放違禁藥物的前提下，我們肯定可以用更輕鬆的心態來對待興奮劑。請讓我們享受來年的體育賽事，包括奧運會的高潮，而不爲作弊所引發的道德憤怒而分心。我期待看到那些最優秀的運動員展開驚心動魄的競賽，而他們成績的提高來自於訓練——和科技。
