Former SA Olympic star advises rebel sports body promoting drug use

Former swimming star Roland Schoeman is advising a rebel movement that wants to stage an Olympic-styled games allowing athletes to use performance-enhancing substances, but he says he himself will continue playing by the antidoping rules.

The Enhanced Games, which describes the war on drugs in sport as “oppression” and “antiscience dogma”, lists Schoeman as one of its athletics advisory commission members on its website.

Schoeman won three Olympic medals at Athens 2004 as well as six world championship gongs before serving a doping ban a few years ago, though he insisted it was the result of a contaminated product. At the time he said he had never knowingly taken performance-enhancing substances and he never would.

“I have been asked by Enhanced Games to advise them, provide current knowledge, critical thinking and analysis to assist the decision-makers who represent the movement,” Schoeman told Business Day in written responses to emailed questions.

“This is based on my experiences as an elite athlete and my experiences with FINA [swimming’s world governing body] and WADA [the World Antidoping Agency] during my adverse analytical finding hearings. 

“I have not changed my outlook with respect to performance-enhancing substances when it comes to the WADA, IOC [the International Olympic Committee], FINA, IAAF [world athletics’ governing body] ... [and such] organisations.

“They have very clear rules and regulations that are in place when it comes to the use of performance-enhancing substances and I support these rules unequivocally. I have done so from the start of my career and will continue to do so,” said the 42-year-old, who is scheduled to represent SA at the world championships in Fukuoka, Japan, in July.

Enhanced Games is being pushed by England-based Australian businessman Dr Aron D’Souza, who wants drugs in sport to be legalised and athletes to compete without being tested. According to The Guardian he wants an inaugural games to be held in December 2024.

Enhanced Games is critical of the IOC, complaining that too little of the organisation’s $7.6bn four-yearly revenue gets to athletes. But it does not seem to offer a concrete alternative funding model.

Its website claims 4-million Americans used anabolic-androgenic steroids, saying: “When used correctly, the inclusion of performance enhancements can have significantly positive effects on the results of training and exercise routines.”

It describes the antidoping campaign as “oppression”.

“After years of oppression we are seeing a pushback against the antiscience dogma purported by the incumbent sporting leagues. Enhance is here to free science and sport from those who would rather it be shackled.”

The website offers what it calls myths and facts about the use of drugs. “The Olympic Committee’s ban on performance enhancements is a form of ahistorical antiscience discrimination,” it says.

The website also has a “hall of shame” listing “enemies of science” who include IOC president Thomas Bach, and has a section with seven tips for athletes on “how to come out as enhanced”.

Schoeman said he believes using performance-enhancing drugs should be a personal choice based on facts. “I firmly believe in personal choice when it comes to performance-enhancing drugs, and I personally chose not to use them.

“I believe each individual should have the freedom to make their own decision regarding PEDs [performance-enhancing drugs], as long as they are well informed about the potential risks, consequences and requirements of their respective national and international federations.

“By advocating for informed decision-making and respecting individual choices, we can foster a culture of integrity, fairness and responsibility in sports.”