PROFESSIONAL athletes pay a high price for their pursuit of excellence and glory. Training to the limit tears muscles and wears out joints. Gymnasts often need hip replacements when barely into middle age. Few footballers make it to the end of their careers with their knees intact.

職業(yè)運動員為追求卓越和榮譽付出了高昂的代價。訓(xùn)練到撕裂肌肉極限和關(guān)節(jié)磨損。體操運動員在進(jìn)入中年后通常需要做髖關(guān)節(jié)置換手術(shù)。很少有球員能在職業(yè)生涯的最后時刻還能保持雙膝完整。

But many also run a darker risk: doping. The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, in South Korea, starts this week in its shadow. Years after whistle-blowers first revealed wholesale doping in Russia, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at last decided to bar it from taking part. But it has allowed many Russians to compete as individuals. And on the eve of the competition the Court of Arbitration for Sport said that 28 others should receive a more lenient penalty from the IOC, further muffling the anti-doping message.

但許多人也冒著更大的風(fēng)險:服用興奮劑。于本周開始的韓國平昌冬奧會蒙上一層陰影。在距舉報人首次披露俄羅斯的大規(guī)模興奮劑丑聞的數(shù)年后，國際奧委會終于決定禁止其參與。但它允許許多俄羅斯人作為個人參與競爭。在比賽的前夕，體育仲裁法庭說，其他28人應(yīng)該得到國際奧委會的更寬大的處罰，這進(jìn)一步削弱了反興奮劑的信息。

Russia’s doping is unusual only in its scale and institutional nature. No country or sport is immune. Studies, and an anonymous survey at the World Athletics Championships in 2011, suggest that a third of athletes preparing for big international competitions take banned substances. Yet just 1-2% fail a test each year. Lance Armstrong, a cyclist who won the Tour de France seven times and later admitted to doping all the while, was tested on 250 occasions. The few times he failed, he avoided sanctions by claiming he had taken anti-inflammatories for saddle-sores.

俄羅斯的興奮劑使用只是在規(guī)模和體制上是不尋常的，沒有國家或體育項目對興奮劑有免疫性。2011年世界田徑錦標(biāo)賽的一項匿名調(diào)查顯示，三分之一準(zhǔn)備參加大型國際比賽的運動員服用違禁藥物。然而，每年只有1-2%的人不及格。阿姆斯特朗曾七次獲得環(huán)法自行車賽冠軍，后來承認(rèn)一直服用禁藥，并在250次比賽中接受了測試。在他沒通過的幾次中，他聲稱自己因肌肉酸痛服用了抗炎藥，以避免受到制裁。

Doping is more sophisticated than when communist states used steroids to bulk up athletes. New drugs are designed to be undetectable in a blood or urine sample. Many athletes “blood dope”, receiving transfusions or taking a drug that stimulates the production of red blood cells to improve their stamina. Russian cheats “l(fā)ost” test records in state-run labs and opened “tamper-proof” sample bottles with dental instruments.

興奮劑的使用比社會主義國家使用類固醇來強健運動員要復(fù)雜得多。新藥物在血液或尿液樣本中檢測不到。許多運動員都“嗜血”，接受輸血或服用刺激紅細(xì)胞產(chǎn)生的藥物以提高他們的耐力。俄羅斯服用興奮劑的欺騙者在國營實驗室“丟失”了測試記錄，還打開了牙科器械的“防篡改”的樣品瓶。

Athletes who take banned substances put their health at risk. Soviet athletes who were fed steroids suffered a host of serious problems in later life. They were more likely to commit suicide, or to miscarry or have a disabled child. No one knows what risks those taking new “designer” versions are running. Blood-doping can cause heart attacks; more than a dozen cyclists’ deaths have been linked to it. Some unscrupulous coaches dope promising teenagers, before they are ever subjected to testing. The performance-enhancing benefits will last into their future careers. So will the damage.

服用違禁藥物的運動員將他們的健康置于危險之中。在后來的生活中，服用類固醇的蘇聯(lián)運動員遭受了一系列嚴(yán)重的問題。他們更有可能自殺，或者流產(chǎn)或者有一個殘疾的孩子。沒有人知道那些采用新設(shè)計版本興奮劑的人會面臨什么樣的風(fēng)險。血液興奮劑可能導(dǎo)致心臟病發(fā)作;超過10名騎行者的死亡與此有關(guān)。一些不擇手段的教練在很有希望的青少年運動員還沒有接受測試之前，給他們使用興奮劑。這種迅速提高成績帶來的好處將會持續(xù)到他們未來的職業(yè)生涯中，損害也是。

The agencies that set out to stop doping are hugely outclassed. As the backtracking and bickering over sanctions on Russia illustrate, they are divided and weak. Most testing is done by national bodies, which may not try very hard to find evidence that would get their own stars banned. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which oversees them, is packed with officials from national sports federations and the IOC. Their interests are likewise conflicted. Its budget is tiny. The system seems to be designed to look tough but punish only the occasional scapegoat. Honest athletes deserve better.

那些開始停止使用興奮劑的機構(gòu)被遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)的超越了。對俄羅斯制裁的回溯和爭論表明，他們是分裂的、軟弱的。大多數(shù)測試都是由國家機構(gòu)進(jìn)行的，他們可能不太努力去尋找可能使他們自己的體育明星被禁賽的證據(jù)。世界反興奮劑組織負(fù)責(zé)監(jiān)督他們的工作，這其中包括國家體育聯(lián)合會和國際奧委會的官員。他們的利益也是矛盾的，他們的預(yù)算很少。這個制度似乎是為了看起來強硬，但只懲罰偶爾的替罪羊。誠實的運動員應(yīng)該得到更好的。

Don’t throw in the towel

Fixing doping means fixing incentives. WADA needs money, and to be independent of the sports officials who currently call the shots. Then it could improve testing and carry out more investigations—Russian doping was proved after whistle-blowers raised the alarm. “Athlete biological passports”, which monitor a range of markers in blood, show promise.

解決興奮劑問題意味著要制定激勵措施。世界反興奮劑組織需要錢，而且要獨立于目前發(fā)號施令的體育官員。然后，它可以改進(jìn)測試，并進(jìn)行更多的調(diào)查——俄羅斯的興奮劑事件就是在舉報人舉報后被證實的?？梢员O(jiān)測血液中的一系列標(biāo)記物的“運動員生物護照”可以給出保障。

Above all, the punishment for doping should be severe and certain. No Russians should be competing in Pyeongchang after their country is known to have attempted wholesale fraud. Athletes should not have to choose between risking their health or being beaten by a cheat.

最重要的是，對興奮劑的懲罰應(yīng)該是嚴(yán)厲且明確的。在俄羅斯被發(fā)現(xiàn)大規(guī)模欺詐后，應(yīng)該禁止俄羅斯參加平昌競賽。運動員不應(yīng)該在健康風(fēng)險和被欺騙兩者中做出選擇。

This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Dope on the slopes"