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The Brave New World of Sports

Koen Van Weel/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Performance enhancement and drugs in the sporting world have a bad rap. Nobody likes a cheater. But what if select sporting events encouraged the use of technological and scientific enhancements? What if some sports were based on human athleticism more akin to Formula One racing, where scientists, engineers and innovation play a significant role in who makes it to the winner’s podium?

Futurists and science fiction writers have long imagined Olympic-like games that emphasize radical technology and cyborg ability. An early rendition of this may look like the 2020 Cybathlon, held next May in Switzerland.