Anabolic Steroids in the Olympic Games

Anabolic steroids were made popular during the 20^th century and became a way for countries to prove that they were better than others in the Olympic Games. However, steroids are nothing new. They help to increase the amount of testosterone that can be found in the body, which can be gained through eating red meat.

Use of testosterone:

In fact, the use of testosterone to aide with the building of muscle dates back to the first ever Olympics in Ancient Greece. Rumor has it that participants would eat animal testicles to be able to improve their performance.

Benefits to taking steroids:

There are many benefits to taking steroids along with many side effects. However, they have been banned from the Olympic Games and have been made illegal in many countries. However, anabolic steroids can be issued on prescription but it does stop competitors from competing in sporting events.

Main use of this medication:

The main use of this medication is that they aid with the production of red blood cells, which means that more oxygen gets around the body. The added testosterone also makes it easier for the body to gain more lean muscle and lose fat. This is why so many bodybuilders and sportsmen choose to take them and why they become popular during the Olympic Games.

Soviet bloc:

In the early stages, it meant that the Soviet block was able to win in all the games until the Americans learned more about the chemicals that were being used. It meant that these countries were on a higher playing field than any of the other countries and was one of the reasons why the drugs were banned from the game.

Drug enforcement:

Initially, the drug enforcement administration introduced a test that would measure the amount of testosterone in the system. However, this could be different in each person since everybody is different. It then led to the production of another test, which involved measuring the amount of testosterone against the epitestosterone. This was a way to check that the levels looked normal.

Germans found a way:

However, the Germans found a way around this test. They developed drugs that would raise the level of epitestosterone along with the level of testosterone. It led to a large battle between the countries and the drug enforcement administration for the Olympic Games. It was not until years later that the anti doping agency found out about what the German sports teams were doing.

Started turning to steroid:

It was around this time that it was noted how people had started turning to steroid abuse to be able to do better and to gain more muscle. There were many athletes using them and doing a lot of damage to their body. This led to many having to be rushed to the hospital. Just one that was in the papers was Brigit Dressel of West Germany in 1987. After improving her heptathlon performance in the European Championships and the World Championships, she aimed to win Gold at the 1988 Olympic Games. However, it was while training in 1987 that she felt a sharp pain in her lower back. The steroid abuse had damaged her liver and kidneys and she died at the age of 26.

The reason behind the German scandal:

This was partially the reason behind the German scandal being released and the Olympic Games commission finding out about the abuse. This also led to countries making them illegal. However, even the FDA argued about them helping with some medical conditions.

Drugs for better performance:

It has not stopped athletes from using the drugs to be able to better their performance, even in the Olympic Games. There are some games that most people will remember hearing about athletes being stripped of their medals due to the levels of certain chemicals in their systems; even if on medication, unless it is prescription, the medals have been stripped.

The most notorious is from the 1988 Olympics. The 100-meter race was thought that American competitor, Carl Lewis would win. However, he was beaten by Canadian Ben Johnson. This was a shock to many people but at first nothing was questioned. Johnson was awarded the Gold medal and Lewis the Silver. However, it was later that the drug officials found that Johnson had tested positively for excess testosterone which could have only been gained from banned drugs. Johnson was stripped of his Gold medal and it was awarded to Lewis.

Olympic Games:

Most recently, in the 2000 Olympic Games, there was a scandal after Romanian Andreea Raucan was stripped of her Gymnastic Gold medal for high levels of pseudoephedrine in her system. According to Raucan, this was due to medication that she was taking for a cold. However, this was not prescribed to her so it could not be proven that it was solely from medication that she was taking.

Anabolic drugs

Anabolic drugs have constantly been in the news whether for good reasons or for bad. Since the ban from the Olympic Games, they have gone through a lot of bad press. There are many negatives associated with the drugs rather than the medical conditions that they can aid to help. In fact, when countries started making them illegal, it also gave users of this type of medication more bad press; even those who were prescribed the medication by their doctors.

Problem with taking the anabolic drugs:

The problem with taking the anabolic drugs is that not all have been approved by the FDA. Some have far too many side effects that are damaging to health to be approved and there are others that offer fewer side effects available for the exact same benefits.

Different types of steroid:

There are many different types of steroid available. Some have a higher anabolic rate while others are higher in other chemicals. All offer the main benefits of all the other types but there are varying side effects due to the chemicals converting to either estrogen or progesterone.