Technology can’t be ignored. It should be embraced in a supporting role.
Jim Goodhead, Suffolk
If we do not allow sensible progress on a level playing field then we will not make technical advances.
John Dealey, St Albans
Yes, it’s right that athletes use the latest technology to enhance performance.
James Collinson, Cambridgeshire
As long as the technology is available to all competitors I don’t have a problem with it and I don’t want to see barefoot runners, yew bows, hollowed-out log canoes and penny-farthings at the Olympics!
Jon Tyrie, Cleveland
There will always be inequality between athletes due to money invested by countries according to their wealth and desire to be seen to be the best. Technology is less dangerous than drugs when all is said and done.
Ali Owen, Leeds
I think it’s fair provided the IOC funds athletes from across the spectrum and maintains a broad base of sports so that there is at least a chance for smaller nations to give their athletes a chance. Also technical advancement for positive reasons has value in the world.
Nicola Johnson, Derby
How does one know what is being rewarded: parental wealth, government sponsorship, sports scholarships, coaching, supportive team-mates and spectators, equipment design and/or performance-enhancing drugs? I suppose physical endowment and commitment come in there somewhere. It is not obvious how one can sieve out the extraneous influences.
Alan Reynolds, Ealing, London
There should be two Olympic Games: a no-holds barred one where anything goes – technology, training, performance-enhancing drugs, equipment, pretty much what we are currently watching – and a second which returns to the Olympic ideal of amateur competitors where participation, not winning, matters and nationalism is excluded.
Jonathan Percival, St Neots, Cambs
It is right. Otherwise we may not win as many medals.
Jamie Davies, Llantrisant
It seems appropriate to include all modern technological advances in future Olympics. As in Formula One, ongoing tests and controls must apply to all contestants.
Andrew Luce, Portsmouth
Technology is used in every walk of life. Why should we not use technology to improve the way we develop the capability of the human body? This is not, and cannot, be used during the actual competition which is how a drug improves the performance of the body.
Matthew Waterhouse, Cheshire
Yes of course it’s right. Surely that’s always happened and how could it be otherwise?
John Jeyes, West Sussex
It is the dedication of the athlete which wins the medals. Would you like to be in the swimming pool before 6am prior to work? Technology helps athletes achieve their potential, but it is their natural-born talent and guts which produces results.
Brian McMahon, Camberley, Surrey
Chemists have always been several steps ahead of the testers, and if they can do it engineers can do it too. So bring on the technology bans and let’s see what we can do – there’s probably more money in it that way also.
Kevin, Cardiff
The use of technology to boost performance of elite athletes will have spin-offs in better understanding to benefit the health of the wider populace – in the same way that racing car engineering drives improvements in designs for more mundane vehicles.
John Buchanan, Maldon, Essex
Formula One is a sport with an intrinsic reliance on technology yet it is still down to the difference between drivers – great drivers have won with less-developed vehicles. The same will work with athletics; the star performers will win.
Roger John, Bridgend
Despite the attraction of making all competitors equal, we may not get many takers for a ‘kit off’ Olympics. So let’s accept technological innovation and enjoy the engineering challenges this provides.
Keith Thomas, Derby
As an aid to training, I see nothing wrong with the use of technology. Where the line starts to blur is in the equipment used. For example, I believe that all cyclists should use exactly the same equipment during events. After all, it is supposed to be a test of the athlete, not the equipment.
Fred Bunce, Gloucester