Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
Human Growth Hormone has been banned by almost all major sporting communities as a performance enhancer, though to this point the ban has stood on little more than a mass hunch of a consensus in the scientific community. HGH helped with recovery, muscle growth, and cell replacement: hence, it probably gave athletes an edge, but no studies showed what it did in any precise way.
Until now: an Australian study sought to measure what HGH does in terms of strength and speed improvement in a 100 athlete study. They determined that strength gains were negligible while sprinters typically added four percent to their overall capacity. If four percent doesn't sound like a lot, you'd make a lousy banker:
The researchers speculated that the boost from growth hormone alone is enough to shave off about half a second in a 10-second sprint at 100 meters. That little time "divides the winner from the last place finisher," said Ho.
Any sprinter alive would take that, especially if it meant they'd only lose to Usain Bolt by ten meters instead of fifteen. It's all about preserving dignity, no?
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