Conversely, in sports requiring athletes to excel in actions such as running or jumping, it is beneficial to have longer than average Achilles tendon and a shorter calf muscle.

He added that it was a "reasonable condition" to require athletes who agree to receive financial support from the U.S.O.C. to submit to random drug testing.

In our time that idea has been diluted with the addition of team sports, and even more seriously by requiring athletes to compete under national colors.

However, they also require faster athletes, and it can be difficult to recover when a defender is beaten.

That Board formulated the controversial "no pass no play" rule, requiring athletes to maintain passing grades in all academic classes.

Given the number of players seeking asylum, the Eritrean government began requiring athletes to pay a 100,000 nakfa surety before traveling abroad.

The university has a longstanding policy requiring athletes to report any potential N.C.A.A. violations, Manetta said, and Wolfinger did so.

The I.O.C. requires athletes who sustain an open wound to stop participating until the wound is closed.

"Requiring athletes to starve and hypocrisy I hope are dead," Helmick said.

"But, I have difficulty requiring athletes to have a higher average than other kids," Mr. Savage said.