What does it take to be the best in athletics? Some people say determination and heart will get you to the top. That is partly true, but those two qualities can only take you so far. In order be the best you need skill and raw athletic ability. Skill is something that can be obtained by constant practice and a relentless worth ethic, but athletic ability is different. Athletic ability is determined by speed, strength, power and explosiveness. These traits are ones that cannot always be obtained by hard work; sometimes it takes a little more. In this case, some athletes turn to performance enhancing drugs to give their bodies "that edge" to perform beyond their natural capabilities, and thus rise above the competition. To be the best in the world of sports, you must beat the best, but the price of winning is high. Serious athletes will do whatever it takes to defeat their opponent, even if it means putting their bodies at a health risk.

It has been known for years that anabolic steroids are detrimental to the body; therefore, every major sports governing body in the world has outlawed the use of them. But today, with new technology, there are performance-enhancing drugs on the

market that are perfectly legal. Creatine monohydrate exploded onto the world scene following the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Linford Christie, a 32 year-old sprinter from Great Britain, used creatine monohydrate as a dietary supplement to give him the competitive edge over the younger competition and win the title of "World's Fastest Man." One might ask how a 32 year-old man, supposedly out of his physical prime, can beat the fastest, most explosive athletes in the world to the finish line. Mr. Christie had a secret weapon that the other competitors did not have, creatine monohydrate. However, a risk of unknown long term effects on the body comes with taking this product. Should creatine be made illegal for athletes to use, or, are the risks outweighed by the benefits of taking this product?

The question still remains: should the governing bodies of athletics outlaw creatine or not? Clearly this is an issue that needs to be dealt with because of the ever-growing number of athletes using this performance-enhancing supplement. The advantages of taking this supplement are obvious, but it is the unknown, long-term side effects of creatine that make this supplement questionable. Because athletes have only used creatine for the past ten years, no intense long-term studies have been done. The FDA, the nation leader in research of this kind, is prohibited to regulate creatine because of the Proxmire Amendment of 1993, which limits their jurisdiction over nutritional supplements (Gershel 422). Therefore, the government and its funding cannot go into the research of creatine, which leaves companies and institutions with limited money to perform the much needed research. Creatine as a supplement falls under the broad category of products known as ergogenic aids, which also includes anabolic steroids and erythropoietin. Both of those products, along with others in that category, are banned by every major sports governing body in the world (Gershel 423). "These prohibited substances have been known to predispose athletes to life-threatening health risks such as increased cancer risk and stroke (Gershel 423)." Creatine could have the potential dangers of steroids when speaking of long-term effects. This thought becomes scary when you consider the number of athletes taking this supplement today.

Creatine sounds too good to be true. It has been scientifically proven to make athletes more athletic. An edge in athleticism is what can make an average athlete into a good one, and a good athlete into a great one. Best of all, creatine is as easily obtained over the Internet and in health stores all over the nation. Along with the guaranteed results, the availability is the other reason why creatine is the most popular performance-enhancing drug on the market. In 2001 alone, creatine sales were over $400 million. In a study done by the University of Memphis, sixty-three athletes were either given the dietary supplement creatine or a carbohydrate/protein suppleme

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