Fastest, Highest, Strongest: A Critique of High-Performance Sport / Edition 1

by Rob Beamish, Ian Ritchie

Overview

Fastest, Highest, Strongest presents a comprehensive challenge to the dominant orthodoxy concerning the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport.

Examining the political and economic transformation of the Olympic Movement during the twentieth century, the authors argue that the realities of modern sport require a serious reassessment of current policies, in particular the ban on the use of certain substances and practices. The book includes detailed discussion of:

 

* The historical importance of World War II and the Cold War in the development of a high-performance culture in sport

* The changing Olympic project: from amateurism to a fully professionalized approach

* The changing meaning of "sport"

* The role of sport science, technology and drugs in pursuing ever-better performance

* The major ethical and philosophical arguments used to support the ban on performance-enhancing substances in sport.

 

Fastest, Highest, Strongest is a profound critical examination of modern sport. Its straightforward style will appeal to under- and post-graduate students as well as scholars of sports ethics and history, policy makers and all those interested in the changing nature of sport.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415770422
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/28/2006
Series:	Routledge Critical Studies in Sport
Edition description:	1ST
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Rob Beamish, Ian Ritchie

Table of Contents

1. From de Coubertin's Dream to High-Performance Sport: The Shifting Dynamics of Olympic Sport 2. Steroids: Nazi Propaganda, Cold War Fears, and 'Androgenized' Women 3. 'Sport,' German Traditions, and the Development of 'Training' 4. From Stalingrad to Helsinki: The Development of German Sport Systems 5. 'Something had altered in the faces of the pigs …' The Convergence of Sport in the GDR and FRG 6. Ethics Reconsidered: The Spirit of Sport, the Level Playing Field, and Harm to the Athlete. Conclusion: The Brave New World of High-Performance Sport