The International Olympic Committee organized this conference on sport sciences, the fifth of its kind. It was held in Sydney from October 31 through November 5. We were funded by the Sports Foundation of New Zealand, through Sport Science NZ, to attend and present papers. The following report is a summary of the presentations relevant to athletes and sport scientists interested in performance enhancement. Summary: Effects of altitude: generally positive for sea-level performance. Creatine supplementation: more evidence of its effectiveness for repeated bouts of high-intensity activity, plus information on loading and maintenance regimes. Colostrum supplementation: preliminary evidence for a small beneficial effect on rowing performance. Other supplements: take care with "natural remedies", which may contain banned substances; don't get in the Zone; use intravenous fluids only for serious energy imbalance in multi-day events. Lactate threshold: it doesn't track performance well when athletes are highly motivated. Worthwhile enhancements: on the basis of variation in competitive performance, aim for at least 0.5-1.5% for elite track-and field athletes and 0.8% for elite Olympic triathletes.
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