IntroductionWith the performance differences between competing top athletes becoming smaller and smaller, sometimes even within the error margins of the measuring systems, comparing performances and deciding on winners is becoming a perilous affair. Yet, it is of utmost importance: wrong decisions of the (referee) system may have disproportionate consequences. On the other hand, exceptional performances become rarer and rarer, and more and more labeled as a result of 'doping'. What aspects are responsible for these two interrelated phenomena in elite sports?

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