I read an article a little while ago about one of the swimmers who was training for these games and it talked about exactly this, how the changes to his body shape and composition were bigger drawbacks than the added strength from the enhancements.
If this event ends up going for a while and has enough interest I would expect people to figure out an optimal way to dope to find the balance.
Steroids that make you bigger are the main public understanding of PEDs, but there are plenty of other types that increase stamina or speed recovery from individual races. 10% more blood flow would be huge for a long swimming event than more muscle mass.
I read an article a little while ago about one of the swimmers who was training for these games and it talked about exactly this, how the changes to his body shape and composition were bigger drawbacks than the added strength from the enhancements.
If this event ends up going for a while and has enough interest I would expect people to figure out an optimal way to dope to find the balance.
Steroids that make you bigger are the main public understanding of PEDs, but there are plenty of other types that increase stamina or speed recovery from individual races. 10% more blood flow would be huge for a long swimming event than more muscle mass.
The advancements will be to the suit. It will become more like speed submarining than swimming.