# Is there any sport in which taking steroids does not provide any competitive advantage?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270
**Category:** The Game Room
**Created:** [May 19, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270 "2023-05-19T12:50:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/1 "2023-05-19T12:50:33Z")
Is there any sport in which taking steroids does not provide any competitive advantage?
Auto sports? Equestrian? Chess? “eSports”? Anything?
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2023, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/2 "2023-05-19T13:01:24Z")
Sports that are about finesse and delicate touch don’t benefit from steroids or big muscle. For instance, table tennis has very little to do with strength and all about applying the just-perfect, no-more-no-less deft touch to ball by the paddle. Same for darts; all about precision.
With bowling, it doesn’t take much strength to roll the ball; again all about precision. A dainty weak-muscled person could hit strikes just as much as a muscular hulk.
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### Author:  [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/3 "2023-05-19T13:06:38Z")
If you mean strictly steroids vs. PEDs more broadly, the answer is still probably no, but there might be _some_ people whose performance won’t be enhanced. If you mean PEDs broadly, there’s definitely no sport where you can’t give yourself an edge with banned substances.
But realistically, for anything that working out helps, steroids help. And working out helps with pretty much everything. It is just definitely not the case that something like bowling is all about precision. Throw a ball that’s an extra 2 pounds heavier and see what it does to the pins. Doing the same motions for longer and with less fatigue also helps with precision, and working out will let you train your muscles to do that.
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### Author:  [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/4 "2023-05-19T13:11:34Z")
Competitive shooting is a sport that I suspect doesn’t benefit much from steroids, and I would bet the PEDs that would be most effective would be ones that lower your heart rate and generally calm you down.
eSports would be similar, except that the PEDs would be the exact opposite I would think.
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### Author:  [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)
#### Post date: [May 19, 2023, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/5 "2023-05-19T13:13:39Z")
That’s right. There was a pistol shooting scandal involving beta blockers, which do exactly that.
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### Author:  [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/6 "2023-05-20T00:52:28Z")
Bodybuilding, due to the level playing field.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/7 "2023-05-20T01:18:54Z")
Surfing?
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/8 "2023-05-20T01:33:02Z")
> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> Is there any sport in which taking steroids does not provide any competitive advantage?
>
> Auto sports? Equestrian? Chess? “eSports”? Anything?
Are you using steroids as a generic term for PEDs or do you mean steroids specifically? There are many substances that can enhance performance without making big muscles. Sports that don’t need a high level of strength like car racing do need a high level of stamina and concentration.
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### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/9 "2023-05-20T02:36:30Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> Sports that don’t need a high level of strength like car racing do need a high level of stamina and concentration.
In lower and hobbyist series, maybe. But top tier drivers like Formula 1 are all definitely in top physical form. It takes a lot of strength and stamina to muscle a car around while pulling upwards up 5.5 Gs several times a lap for many many laps. Especially their neck muscles.
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### Author:  [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/10 "2023-05-20T03:47:16Z")
One of the biggest advantages of PEDs is faster recovery time. Any sport that takes a lot out of you is one where you can gain advantage from faster recovery.
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### Author:  [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/11 "2023-05-20T03:58:00Z")
Curling for the win. It is an Olympic sport. 🤣
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### Author:  [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/12 "2023-05-20T04:26:00Z")
I’m only asking about anabolic steroids.
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### Author:  [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/13 "2023-05-20T14:50:23Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#):
>
> Surfing?
99% of surfing is paddling.
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### Author:  [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/14 "2023-05-20T15:00:27Z")
Have you seen the ‘guns’ on some of the sweepers?! Steroids would definitely bring an advantage.
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### Author:  [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/15 "2023-05-20T19:16:22Z")
Competitive trail riding aka endurance riding. 25 to 100 miles in one day. Women do as well as men at this, as in most equestrian sports that do not require you to throw a cow to the ground. Unlike flat racing on a track, horses have stringent drug checks (not the riders though, who have typically front-loaded nsaids).
And let’s not forget synchronized swimming, and competitive tap dancing.
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### Author:  [@Kitten\_Mitten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitten_Mitten)
#### Post date: [May 20, 2023, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/16 "2023-05-20T21:59:22Z")
I was going to say ping pong but someone beat me to it.
So I’ll say Fishing.
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### Author:  [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/17 "2023-05-21T08:13:23Z")
Competitive baking?
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### Author:  [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)
#### Post date: [May 21, 2023, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/18 "2023-05-21T08:31:58Z")
Since _everyone_ else in this thread is throwing out a guess, I’d say “no”. There is not an existing popular competitive event where steroids would not benefit a participant. If steroids offer no strength benefit, they at least enhance the combativeness, and all else equal, that would win.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/19 "2023-05-23T14:33:19Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#):
>
> > [@Loach](#):
> >
> > Sports that don’t need a high level of strength like car racing do need a high level of stamina and concentration.
>
> In lower and hobbyist series, maybe. But top tier drivers like Formula 1 are all definitely in top physical form. It takes a lot of strength and stamina to muscle a car around while pulling upwards up 5.5 Gs several times a lap for many many laps. Especially their neck muscles.
Strength is relative. You can’t be weak but you don’t have to be J.J. Watt or Aaron Judge strong. I mean, Jeff Gordon? Being scrawny does necessarily equate to weakness but he certainly doesn’t have elite level strength and he was extremely successful. Drivers tend to be lean which lines up with stamina being important.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [May 23, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-sport-in-which-taking-steroids-does-not-provide-any-competitive-advantage/984270/20 "2023-05-23T14:43:27Z")
> [@DCnDC](#):
>
> I’m only asking about anabolic steroids.
It’s hard to take a deep dive into the data because other than bodybuilding many of the articles use “steroids” as a generic term that encompasses anabolic steroids and other forms of PEDs. Different substances have different effects.
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