I’m
sure everyone has seen runner Mary Cain’s allegations against Nike
coach Alberto Salazar. Some of you have also seen Alberto Salazar
denying those allegations. Kara Goucher and others have also spoke
out against Alberto Salazar, so a lot of these claims can be pretty
legitimate.
The topic of this article is not to assign any
type of blame (who is saying the truth, and who isn’t) because we honestly don't know where the truth lies in this case.
But everyone who does reads this needs to understand what can
potentially happen at the higher level of sport. The public needs to
know so that we can shed a light on this and make sure that our elite
athletes are being looked after in terms of overall mental and physical
well being. The potential for abuse is very high at the top level of
sport.
99% of athletes are at the lower age group and
recreational levels. Most of these recreational and age group athletes
are there for the enjoyment of the sport and of fitness.
When one gets
to the level of the professional athletes and the Olympics, things are
drastically different. There is a “win at all costs” attitude
that prevails at these high levels. This might be in the form of
performance enhancing drugs, in which the sport of cycling has been
plagued with in the past. Or, in this case, the riskiness of diet,
weight, and supplementation that is alleged with Mary Cain, Alberto
Salazar, and the Nike Oregon Project.
This is the mindset at the top level of every sport and can come with many controversial and questionable methods of coaching. Please be warned.
Coaching, on the
recreational level, involves a little risk taking. There’s always
the risk of an injury here and there. At this level of coaching, it’s
easy to prescribe rest, allow the injury to heal, and then resume the
training from there.
When it comes to the competitive
level, this risk does go up. Remember that at this level, performance
starts to take priority over enjoyment. With tougher workouts comes
the higher chance of injury. Every coach knows this. And if an injury
does happen, instead of rest, coaches will try to train around the
injury. In running, that might mean riding the bike instead for the
lower levels of this level, or, on the higher level, coaches take
more of a risk and try to “train through” the injury, knowing
that there is a big risk of the body totally breaking down.
The question is, where is the ethical line crossed?
For coaches, this line is crossed when the overall physical and/or mental well being of the athlete is at risk.
At
the highest level of sport (Olympics and such), coaches and their
staff are pressured to satisfy their sponsors by prescribing
questionable standards to get athletes to perform at the top part of
their levels. Mary Cain is accusing Salazar of some of these
questionable methods, including dropping weight beyond what is
healthy, to the point that women were missing their periods. Mary
Cain said that losing weight included birth control pills and
diuretics, which is shocking to a lot of people who listened to her
story.
Remember that these athletes are performing at the edge of human potential. If what
Mary Cain says is true, I wouldn’t be surprised at all. At various
levels, this is what happens at the top level of all sports. Running,
gymnastics, swimming, weightlifting, etc. When pushing the boundaries
of human potential, Olympic coaches are faced with taking huge risks
with their athletes in order to “win at all costs.” There is a
lot of pressure in this country, and in others, to see our athletes
win on the world stage. With winning comes fame, and endorsements,
and money.
We as a society are consumed with seeing our
athletes winning in the Olympics and other world stages. Hopefully this will shed light on
those athletes we want to win. We have to realize that these athletes
we’re rooting to win are human beings and that they might be suffering in
silence under pressure through their sporting programs in order to
achieve this success.
Each of us coaches also have to draw
the line on this risk taking also. How far do we take athletes to the
point in which they risk permanently damaging their mental and
physical health? It comes down to a question of ethics most of the
time. A major sponsor wants results on the Olympic stage, needs
coaches that produce those results at any cost. Unfortunately, there
are a few coaches that will step forward that will throw ethics and
the athletes’ well being aside to produce those results.
If
you’re in a family of a very gifted athlete, please be vigilant and
make sure that your athlete family member is happy and healthy. He or
she might not tell it to you straight, but you can most likely see
telltale signs if he or she is suffering, like depression, mood
swings, or even physical signs (i.e. cutting or missed periods).
If
you’re a coach, please be very mindful that this is a human being
that you are training, not a robot. Ethics dictate that you take his
or her overall well being into consideration when training the
athlete. Although we coaches always want to see results, it never
should be at the cost of the athlete’s healthiness and happiness.
Not ever.
Coach
“Iron” Pete Priolo
USA Triathlon Certified Coach
NASM
Certified Personal Trainer
Go Farther Sports
