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The lines between science and sport were plainly blurred by the Mexico City Olympic Games in 1968. The thin air at over 7,300 feet above sea level influenced record setting jumping events while impairing some endurance athletes. David Edmonds explores how scientists are enhancing athletes’ potential in a variety of ways. The debate over the role of science and technology in competitive sport ranges from the control of oxygen levels to the technology in swimsuits, to the ability of people with prosthetic limbs to compete.

At the same time that competitive runners, jumpers, and others are trying to increase their mastery in the physical sense, there are people fighting to expand the very pool of what constitutes as a “person.” Mark Peters summarizes some of the ongoing “personhood” campaigns in his recent article. There are movements to extend the legal rights of persons to animals and the unborn, while there is also a campaign to repeal the rights of “corporate personhood” that are well established. If you thought you knew what it meant to be a person, you might find some surprising history behind this word.

Watson, I.B.M.’s trivia bot, demonstrated, the ability for computers can compete with humans on a cognitive level on Jeopardy. What computerized device will be the equivalent for tennis, golf, or boxing? Given the increased profile of technology in our sporting events, and the speed at which computerized devices can now interact with human intelligence, it seems like only a matter of time before humans and non-humans are in athletic competition.

The question ultimately becomes: what is sport? Purists will always insist on the absolute minimum of technical assistance for competitors. Martial arts such as boxing, judo, and wrestling are hallmarks of this purist tendency. But even in these events, the athletes can ingest fine-tuned nutritional compounds and drugs that hug the border of what is considered a steroid. On the other end of the spectrum are events like rowing, cycling, and archery, where technical innovations have had substantial impacts on the nature of competitions year over year.

The motto for the Olympic Games is Citius, Altius, Fortius (Latin for Faster, Higher, Stronger). Devices and adaptations that enhance performance certainly allow athletes to fulfill this motto. It is our own desire to retain the integrity of what we define as a sport that prevents us from accepting performance enhancing drugs and technology. If we are willing to allow it, the future of sport may unlock a very fascinating set of moral questions.