Quote From cmcowen:
do you think there will come a time when athletes are literally at the peak of physiological limits where it is impossible to break records, and if so how far off are we, i mean you can only push your body so far.
Also do current atheletes have an unfair advantage over previous Olympians due to increased knowledge in regards to training, diet, equipment ( funny looking swimming suits etc) meaning its is no longer a personal achievement rather a team achievement, further excluding minority countries due to money and technological advances?
Sorry to put a downer on things; i respect these people immensely i just wanted your guys opinions.
I think that these are fair questions, and do not see them as a downer, its a fact of (modern) life that everything is impacted by technological changes--whether we want to call them an advance is perhaps debatable. From the food we eat to the clothes that we wear, to how we get around, for most people, this is very different than 50, 100, 200 years ago. Sport likewise has been effected--how could it not be? People have better access to nutritional information, can devote huge amounts of their life to training rather than mere survival, the surfaces on which people run, kick, jump, are all different.
Does this take away from sport? I don't think so. Does it take away from the atheletes that have gone before? Of course not. Who can forget or deny the importance of such milestones as the four minute mile, the perfect 10s in gymnastics of Nadia Comaneceau ( not sure how to spell her last name). Is the advance of today somehow disrespectful of yesterday's athlete? Hard to say how.
Remember that many of the advances made are in other terms as well. Sport is more accessible to all--color bars are limited if not altogether gone, which was not true of sport even 50 years ago.
