What’s the ultimate use of scientific endeavor? I mean, can serious, hard-working and, above all, truth-loving scientists still expect their findings to be accepted outside the scholarly bubble?
My faith in the purpose of (sports) science took a fatal blow the other day. As you may or may not have noted, a “cheating scandal” erupted in the wake of the Nordic World Ski Championships held in … well, never mind the location. What matters (strictly speaking, what shouldn’t matter) is that two athletes were disqualified when it emerged that their jump suits had been modified with somewhat excessive zeal.
Whether the athletes knew about the extra sewing doesn’t concern me. (By their own admission, other team members held the needle and thread.) What should bother every scholar of sport worthy of his/her doctorate is the media frenzy surrounding the so-called sewing scandal. We are cynically led to believe that not only the diligent sewers ought to be punished, but that they have assisted numerous Norwegian jumpers for a long while, that the Norwegian ski federation is somehow involved and tainted, and that Norway itself is a land of cheaters.
Let me therefore remind the supposedly serious forumbloggen public of academic discoveries centered on the key words “cheating and “Norwegian sport.” In the next paragraph I take the liberty of paraphrasing a 2014 blog post of mine; the original offence (forbidden performance-enhancing methods and substances) has merely been replaced with cheating in general.
As established by more than a handful of Norwegian scholars of sport, “cultural differences” account for systematic cheating in countries such as Russia and, perhaps, Finland. In Norway, by contrast, cheating is perceived as “high treason against the nation,” and Norway’s role as a “moral leader with regard to sports ethics” is widely acknowledged. That Norwegian elite athletes are “most clearly opposed to [cheating]” is also a fact, and it can best be explained by the “clearly articulated public Norwegian anti-[cheating] attitude.” Indeed, Norway’s exemplary anti-cheating mentality ought to be finally adopted by less upright ski nations such as Russia and Finland.
The science-based findings summarized above were published in respectable academic journals over the past twenty years. None of them has been contested by a double-blind peer-reviewed study. All of them represent the last word of science on the topic at hand.
I feel immensely sorry for the Norwegian academics whose labor of love is so unceremoniously ignored by the sensation-loving media.
Not all Norwegian scholars claim that our athletes have an anti-cheating mentality, and not all Norwegian scholars place the blame on the individual level (athletes, coaches).
I have since 1982 written extensively on this subject, based on a more systemic perspective. My main point is that the system almost forces athletes, coaches and other personnel to overstep rules and limits. Elite sport is nothing but push, and sometimes, overstepping rules and limits. This is expressed in the Olympic motto “Citius—Altius—Fortius” (faster—higher—stronger), a utopian belief in the boundless improvement of human performance. Every stone is turned to run one hundredth of a second faster. The motto is pathological, and it has pathogenic (disease-causing) consequences. Running 100 meters in 0.0 seconds is impossible, yet athletes are encouraged to try. Sports entanglements with science, technology, economy, politics and the media, enable the boundary-breaking pursuit of ever better performances. This boundlessness leads to injuries, cheating, inequality, corruption, discrimination, sports washing, undemocratic leadership, and doping. All individuals are the lackeys or servants for the system. If the system changes, the lackeys will follow suit.
If you, or other readers, are interested in a more extensive explanation, please read the chapter linked below: https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollchap/book/9781800885653/chapter45.xml
All the best,
Jan Ove Tangen
professor emeritus, USN
Tack for a welcome reminder – there are naive and not-so-naive (sport) scholars in every country, including Norway! And maybe the Norwegian scholars cited in my 2014 text will soon take the time to reflect on the validity of their ’scientific’ findings…
You should invite them – officially! May be Idrettsforum could help in staging a seminar or a webinar on this topic ”Selfreflection of Scandinavian scholars on earlier statements on cheating, doping and elite sports”. That could be fun. Editor Kjell… do you take the challenge?
Jan Ove, I will give it a thought and get back to you.
Lip balm and skijump suits. No way norwegian cheat. All skiers need astma pipe! Normal.