High-Performance sport: Between physical excellence and bioethical dilemmas
Keywords:
Sports bioethics; high-performance sport; doping; ergogenic technologies; fairness in sportAbstract
Introduction: High-performance sport represents one of the most admired expressions of human physical capacity, yet it also raises complex bioethical dilemmas. The pursuit of excellence may compromise athletes’ health, autonomy, and equity, generating tensions between the competitive ideal and biological, psychological, and ethical realities.
Objective: To analyze the main bioethical dilemmas that arise in high-performance sport, assessing how certain practices affect integrity, health, and the fundamental values of sport.
Material and Methods: A narrative literature review with a critical approach was conducted using databases (PubMed, Regional SciELO, Google Scholar) and documents from organizations (WADA, IOC, UNESCO). A total of 51 relevant references published between 2015 and 2025 were included.
Development: Findings show that intensive training, while fostering discipline and resilience, also leads to chronic injuries, hormonal dysfunctions, and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and burnout. Questionable practices such as doping, genetic manipulation, and the use of ergogenic technologies compromise fairness and athlete´s well-being. Ethical tensions regarding unequal access to resources, participation of athletes with special conditions, institutional pressure, corruption, and disproportionate financial incentives are identified.
Conclusions: A bioethical framework that integrates classical principles with contemporary challenges, including mandatory ethical training, transparency in communication, and the creation of sports ethics committees is proposed. Bioethics should serve as a compass to ensure a fair, healthy, and human-centered sport.
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