The AP's Howard Fendrich reports on an American Enterprise Institute conference about gene doping:
Gather a roomful of anti-doping experts, administrators, academics and athletes alike — something a conservative think tank did Thursday — and there is no consensus as to whether gene doping, thought by some to be the next frontier in Olympic cheating, is at hand.
Indeed, there isn't even consensus on whether it would be a bad thing.
The article is not really an in-depth coverage of the issue, but merely trades back-and-forth quotes from various conference participants. It's still interesting, though:
John Leonard, executive director of the American Swimming Coaches Association, told of conversations he has had with coaches and scientists in China.
"We are really naive if we are to believe that the Chinese at this point are clean or that they are the only country in the world that is experimenting with genetic enhancement as we speak," said Leonard, who was not a panelist but attended the conference and spoke during question-and-answer periods.
"There are lots of countries in the world who couldn't care less about doing it safely, and there are lots of athletes who will take the chance that they will die in order to win medals. ... Will the United States have the same viewpoint when we start losing gold medals?"
The views of the pro-doping people seem to have been well represented, along with Edwin Moses and others who are anti-doping.
