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STERIODS IN SPORTS.
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Purpose, effects, history, manufacture, medical uses, dangers, official banning, testing.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Purpose, effects, history, manufacture, medical uses, dangers, official banning, testing.
Paper Introduction:
This paper will be concerned with the history of steroids in sports. Anabolic steroids are drugs which are designed to "artificially promote muscle development" (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. 39). Such drugs contain either natural or synthetic varieties of the male hormone known as testosterone. This hormone, which is normally found in the male testes, is responsible for giving men greater strength and aggressiveness in comparison to women. In addition, testosterone contributes to other male characteristics of the body, such as facial hair. By contrast, women carry a hormone in their bodies known as estrogen, which is responsible for the development of the breasts, among other things. By taking steroids, both male and female athletes have discovered that they can dramatically increase their body size and strength. This is obviously an
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14). . However, because of the healthhazards, most athletes do not want to get involved in the use of steroids.In addition, most athletes believe that a sense of fair play requirespeople to make their best effort without the support of any drugs. Many of the athletes became addicted to theeffects of the steroids, and started taking more of them with each dosagein the hopes that it would make them all that much stronger than theircompetitors. The first reported useof steroids by athletes came from Russia during the 195 s. In 1771, for example, a European scientistdiscovered that testosterone transferred from a rooster to a hen caused thehen to develop male characteristics. In 1978, Gabe Mirkin published a book entitled The SportsmedicineBook, in which he included a survey of athletes regarding their interest insteroids. Thus, despite growingawareness about the health hazards associated with steroids, they continueto be used by unscrupulous athletes seeking an unfair advantage againsttheir competitors. When urine tests were conducted, it was discoveredthat six of the Olympic athletes had indeed used steroids. Podell (Ed.).Sports in America (pp. The only way in whichsteroid use can be seen as fair in the world of sports would be if allathletes used them in similar dosages. In addition, Ziegler began developing regrets about the useof steroids on his team when he did further tests on the drug and becameaware of its potential dangers. 46). By 1956, Dr. Ziegler, inconjunction with the CIBA Pharmaceutical Company of New Jersey, haddeveloped "the first American steroid, which was marketed under the brandname, Dianabol" (Dolan 1986, p. For example, in 1986, twenty-one college football playerswere banned as a result of testing positive for steroid use; and, in 1987,"6 percent of the National Football League's 16 players tested positivefor anabolic steroids during the pre-season physical" (p. Donohoe, T., & Johnson, N. In addition, testosterone contributes to other malecharacteristics of the body, such as facial hair. Los Angeles: JeremyP. In 1849, a scientific experimentshowed that a castrated rooster injected with testosterone had some of hismale characteristics restored despite the castration (Wadler & Hainline,1989, p. Unfortunately, thoseexperiments were carried out by athletes who were not aware of thepotential dangers of steroids to the body. 16). This hormone, which is normally found in the male testes, isresponsible for giving men greater strength and aggressiveness incomparison to women. In addition, heclaimed that steroids had been responsible for his suffering a fracturedvertebra, as well as "six knee operations, internal problems, and a mentalbreakdown" (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. I'd like to go back and take thatwhole chapter out of my life" (Todd, 1986, p. During the 195 s,Ziegler was the official doctor for a team of American weightlifters. Nevertheless,the use and abuse of steroids continues to be a serious problem in theworld of sports. Inaddition, long-term use of steroids may lead to birth defects in thechildren of athletes who have taken them. Through his research, Ziegler foundconclusive evidence that steroids do indeed help to increase strength andbody size in both men and women. Powerlifting Federation, have alsobanned the use of steroids (Wadler & Hainline, 1989, p. Such drugs containeither natural or synthetic varieties of the male hormone known astestosterone. After the experiments ofweightlifters with steroids, other athletes in power sports becameattracted to their use. The results of Goldman'ssurvey were remarkably similar to those of Mirkin's. Finally, in 1935, researchers discovered a way to synthesizethe male hormone. Sports in America (pp. As expected,the steroids were effective in helping the athletes to gain greaterstrength and power. It was not until the 195 s that steroids began to beused by athletes interested in gaining an advantage over their competitors. An American scientist who was influential in promoting the use ofsteroids among Western athletes was John Ziegler. 144). With thedevelopment of the women's movement, female athletes also began to beattracted to steroids as a possible means to improve their own body sizeand strength. By contrast, women carrya hormone in their bodies known as estrogen, which is responsible for thedevelopment of the breasts, among other things. because of thepresence of anabolic steroids in his urine" (p. Because of this, steroids became a drug forbodybuilding as opposed to medical treatment. Goldman asked 198 world-classathletes basically the same question that Mirkin had asked of his athletes. The ability to synthesize hormones in thisway was first developed in the 193 s. In the following year,however, the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Commissionbecame a leader in both the testing and banning of steroids. However, none of those athletes were penalized atthe time because there were not yet any official prohibitions against theuse of such drugs (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. Garfield, C.A., & Bennett, H.Z. These banned athletesincluded Totka Petrova, Natalia Marasescu, and Ileana Silai, three of thefastest female middle-distance runners in the world at the time (Donohoe &Johnson, 1987, p. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note that the first experiments withsteroids to increase body size and strength were conducted by the GermanNazis during the late 193 s and early 194 s. 144-148). 145). Steroids may cause a variety of medicalproblems including liver damage and a weakening of the kidneys. Kochakian and J.R. The testing and disqualifications which took place at the 1976Olympics brought the problem of steroid use into the public eye. 32). The first sample is tested and, if it comes outpositive, a second test is conducted to be certain that the first wascorrect. In particular, it was hoped thatsteroids could be used to help people suffering from low body weight ormuscular deficiency. However, since the late195 s, it has become increasingly apparent that the dangerous side effectsof steroids outweigh these benefits. However, despite the dangers and unfairness, steroid use continued tospread among athletes during the 196 s and 197 s. For example, at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, the Canadiansprinter Ben Johnson was "stripped of his gold medal . In actuality, steroids donothing to improve the overall performance of an athlete. The first regret was that the weightlifters immediatelybegan to abuse the drug. Thus, in 1954, "the first reports appeared of male andfemale Russian athletes using anabolic steroids to increase weight andpower" (Wadler & Hainline, 1989, p. The gaschromatograph separates the components of the sample and then passes itinto a mass spectrometer which analyzes the sample, thereby "allowingspecific steroids to be identified and measured" (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987,p. Murlin wrote an article for the Journal of Nutrition which described thesuccessful use of testosterone in increasing the body weight of castratedmale dogs (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. (1986). Thus, "during World War II,German troops employed anabolic steroids in efforts to enhance their musclestrength and increase their aggressiveness" (Wadler & Hainline, Hainline,1989, p. How they're keeping the Olympics honest. (1987). One notable example of this was the 1972 Olympic bronzewinner Ricky Bruch. However, he also discovered that steroidscause various problems in the body, including the possible enlargement ofthe prostate gland (p. Among the athletes who weredisqualified was a Bulgarian weightlifter who "lost his Olympic medal afterlaboratory tests revealed traces of steroids in his urine" (Garfield &Bennett, 1984, pp. (1984). During the 196 s steroidsin sports became increasingly controversial; nevertheless, there were noefforts to ban such drugs until the early 197 s. In addition, the use of steroids byathletes has met with official disapproval because it gives an unfairadvantage against other athletes who have not used such drugs. Ricky Bruch's publicconfession showed the world the potential health hazards of steroid use.Furthermore, by that time, Dr. Ziegler had also turned away from steroidsbecause of their potential dangers and because of the addiction which hewas seeing in the athletes who used them. Wilson. 11-12). InJ. In addition, several other athleteswithdrew from the competition before being tested, "presumably overconcerns about drug testing and its potential impact on Olympiceligibility" (Wadler & Hainline, 1989, p. (1986). In an effort to keep the 1984 OlympicGames as clean and honest as possible, the organizers "spent over 1.6million dollars to establish sophisticated doping controls" (Donohoe &Johnson, 1987, p. Wadler, G.I., & Hainline, B. During that period, the medicalapplications of steroids were still the primary concern. The only difference was that Goldman suggested that the pill would killthe athletes after five years as opposed to one. Thus, football players, track and field players,cyclists, and swimmers all began experimenting with steroids during thattime. 164). In 1973, however, Professor Raymond Brooks of Londondiscovered a new technique for detecting small particles of steroids withinthe body (p. Although steroids are designed toincrease male characteristics in the human body, the Soviet Union hadnumerous women athletes who were using the drug. By the 197 s, the dangers of steroid use had become clear to membersof the medical community. However, by themiddle of the 195 s, athletes in both Europe and the United States began todiscover anabolic steroids. 119). 56). Prior tothe 197 s, many athletes experimented with steroids because there were noofficial rules against their use at that time. Thus, it was believed that artificially increasing malecharacteristics such as body size and strength would enable the Nazis towin the war and take over the world. 61). In this second test, a concentrated sampleof the athlete's urine is placed in a gas chromatograph. Following the Olympics ban, most other organizations in power sportsalso issued bans against the use of steroids. 62). 55). Bob Goldman, co-author of the1984 book Death in the Locker Room: Steroids in Sports conducted his ownsurvey which was based on that of Mirkin. In addition to the International Olympic Commission, many otherorganizations, such as the National Collegiate Athletic Association, theNational Football League, and the U.S. D. (1984). 53). Davis.----------------------- 14 However, their abuse in the world ofsports has caused that dream to become a nightmare. Forexample, masculinization in women caused by steroids has been found to bepermanent in many cases (Wadler & Hainline, 1989, p. New York: H.W. Therefore, when Ziegler returnedto the United States, he decided to look into the possibilities of usingsteroids with his own team of athletes. 32). 16). In this test, a small portion of thesample is injected into a laboratory animal. The fact that athletescontinue to be caught in the act of using steroids indicates that there isan ongoing need for such testing and banning. Foul play: Drug abuse insports. Anabolic steroids generally use synthetic hormones which have beenmanufactured in the laboratory. Amateur Athletic Unionfollowed suit with its own ban (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. During the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas,Venezuela, still more athletes were banned as a result of having testedpositive for steroid use. . Because the useof steroids in the Olympics had been banned by that time, all six offenderswere disqualified (Todd, 1986, p. While in Vienna, Ziegler learned about theuse of steroids among Soviet athletes. Thus,it is obviously not fair "to allow one athlete to use a substance whichboth research data and empirical observation suggest is effective inproducing significant strength gains, when a second athlete for medicaland/or ethical reasons chooses not to use that substance" (Todd, 1986, p.62). As a result, many athletes tested positive and weredisqualified, including Canadian weightlifters Terry Hadlow and LucChagnon, Lebanese weightlifter Mahmoud Tahra, Algerian weightlifter AhmedTarbi, and Finnish runner Martti Vainio (p. Prior to 1973, it was difficult to develop anefficient testing method because "the drug dose taken is very small andwhen this is distributed throughout the body it is present in only minutequantities" (p. Immediately after asporting event, the winner must provide a urine sample which is then placedinto two separate vials. Death in the lockerroom: Steroids and sports. In that year, medical researchers C. This ban was madepossible by the new drug testing procedures which had been developed in1973. Thus, Goldmandiscovered that 52 percent of his respondents were willing to both cheatand give up their lives simply for the glory of winning (p. In addition, some athletes who had used the drugexperimentally began to complain of the side effects that they wereexperiencing. The second test ismuch more thorough and specific. Podell (Ed.). Thus, in1975, the IOC Medical Commission issued a ban against the use of steroidsby Olympic athletes. Goldman, B., Bush, P., & Klatz, R. Once the problems of steroids became apparent, various sportsorganizations began making efforts to ban their use by athletes. However, research on the potentialuse of male hormones for improving body strength can be traced back to thelate-eighteenth century. Tarcher. There were two majorreasons for Ziegler's regrets in having experimented with the use ofanabolic steroids. This testing method involves two basic steps. 46). By taking steroids, bothmale and female athletes have discovered that they can dramaticallyincrease their body size and strength. According to the reports thatZiegler heard, the Soviet athletes were improving their strength and powerthrough the use of the drug. (1986). There were no reports of possible dangers tothe human body as a result of steroids. The steroid predicament. During the course of those games, it was noted that theRussian and East German teams were bigger, stronger and faster thancompetitors from other nations. Afterthat, many other sports organizations began their own programs for testingand banning. 261).It is for this reason that athletes in the 195 s started experimenting withsteroids. 61). This sparked renewed interestin the possible medical benefits of the hormone. New York: FranklinWatts. Another serious side effect of steroids is their ability tocause androgyny in both men and women. If a particular type ofantibody forms to fight against the sample, this provides evidence of thepresence of steroids (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. 43-64). To further insure accuracy, the two tests follow two entirelydifferent procedures. The 1984 Olympics in LosAngeles marked a turning point in the IOC Medical Commission's "crack downon drug use" (Sanoff, 1986, p. There is also the danger thatsteroids may cause cancer, because they disturb the natural ratio ofhormones which are normally found in men and women (Goldman, Bush& Klatz,1984, p. Further research has revealed other potential dangers associated withthe use of anabolic steroids. South Bend, IN: Icarus. 4). In the first test, the urine sample is subjected toa process known as radioimmunoassay. In his own words, Ziegler claimed:"I wish to God now I'd never done it. Many people in the sportscommunity also began to turn against steroids during the 197 s because theyrealized that such drugs give an unfair advantage. Drugs in sports. The first experiments with steroids by athletes occurred in theSoviet Union. In1954, Ziegler's team traveled to Vienna, Austria, in order to participatein a world championship match. However,athletes who were engaged in traditionally male-dominated sports such asweightlifting, football, or track and field, became attracted to the drugbecause it "builds muscle mass and enhances aggressiveness" (Sanoff, 1986,p. In fact, "the athletic achievements of theRussian and East German teams were so extraordinary that the use ofsteroids or other prohibited drugs was widely suspected" (Garfield &Bennett, 1984, p. This was the first sign that steroids maycause serious physical damage to the human body. This occurs, again, because thenatural balance of hormones in the human body is disturbed through the useof the drug. 55). Sanoff, A.P. In J. Thissituation changed in 1973, when the first methods of testing athletes forsteroid use were developed. It was believed that simply increasing muscular size was enoughto give a competitive edge in masculine sporting events. 24). 56). This paper will be concerned with the history of steroids in sports.Anabolic steroids are drugs which are designed to "artificially promotemuscle development" (Donohoe & Johnson, 1987, p. 48). Oxford: Basil Blackwell. During the early 196 s, Zieglerdeveloped an experimental program with his weightlifting team in whichisometric exercises were combined with the use of Dianabol. When anabolic steroids were first synthesized in thelaboratory during the 193 s, it seemed as if they would become new miracledrugs for the medical community. The new test was used for the first time during theCommonwealth Games which were held at Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1974.As a result of that testing, nine of the participating athletes were foundto have used steroids. Nevertheless, years later, Dr. Ziegler looked back onthose experiments with grave regret. If the results of the radioimmunoassaytest are positive, a further test "using gas chromatography and massspectrometry will reveal the type and the amount of the banned substancesinvolved" (Todd, 1986, p. Todd, T. Soon after,American and European athletes also began experimenting with steroids inthe hopes of increasing their strength and body size. This is obviously an advantage insporting events which require such strength. Following the development of this testing procedure in 1973, therewas an increased effort to ban the use of steroids in both professional andamateur sports. At first, they were regarded as something of possiblebenefit to the medical community. The use ofsteroids among athletes has continued to be a problem in the Olympics aswell. Therefore,starting in 1976, the International Olympics Commission issued a banagainst the use of steroids among Olympics competitors. As a result of thisrenewed interest, scientists were soon able to isolate the hormone in thelaboratory, which in turn enabled them to synthesize it as a drug.However, the newly discovered steroids were not immediately applied to theworld of sports. For example, during the195 s, the Soviet athletes Maria Itkina (runner), Iolanda Balas (highjumper), and Irina and Tamara Press (track and field) were all suspected ofhaving used steroids because they were abnormally large and strong incomparison to other women (Goldman, Bush & Klatz, 1984, p. Wilson. 261). 56). For example, at the 1979 Balkan Games, five internationalathletes tested positive and were disqualified. Peak performance: Mentaltraining techniques of the world's greatest athletes. 56). 55). The synthesized testosterone contained in anabolic steroids hasthe capability to "increase protein synthesis which may, with training,create an increase in lean muscle mass" (Wadler & Hainline, 1989, p. Drugs and the athlete.Philadelphia: F.A. In 197 , theInternational Amateur Athletics Federation issued a ban against the use ofsteroids among its players, and in 1971 the U.S. According to the Mirkin survey, when asked if they would bewilling to take a drug which would make them an Olympic champion yet wouldkill them within a year, half of the athletes responded with a resounding"yes" (Goldman, Bush & Klatz, 1984, p. When itwas learned that the Soviet athletes were using steroids to increase theirstrength, many American athletes wanted to experiment with the drug as wellin the hope that it would enable them to keep up with the competition. In the late 194 s and early 195 s, medical scientists continued to beattracted to steroid research because of the drug's potential in healingdamaged muscles and other body tissues. References Dolan, E.F., Jr. The first Olympics testing was conducted at the 1976Montreal Games. The Nazis who experimented with steroids in this wayfollowed the same logic as the athletes who later became victims of thedrug. 11).Regardless, many athletes continued to use steroids during the early 197 sbecause there was no way in which they could be tested for such use. New York: H.W. 42). Bruch, a discus thrower, admitted to the public in1978 that he had taken steroids throughout his career. Anabolic steroids have been found responsible for such thingsas breast enlargement in men and the growth of facial hair in women. (1989). 165). By the 197 s, these healthhazards had become clear and, in addition, drug-free athletes began toresent the unfair advantage which steroid users were obtaining. Obviously, this did not come to pass. 64). 39). 11). Someof these side effects are temporary; however, some of them cannot bereversed, even when the use of steroids has been discontinued. In those games, seven athletes tested positiveand were banned from the competition.
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