Performance-Enhancing Drugs and the Olympics at Summer Olympian

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Performance-Enhancing Drugs and the Olympics

Posted May 7, 2008 at 09:00 AM by Michael J. Sedor

Section: Beijing 2008, Doping, Culture/History, Olympic History, Socio-Political, Featured Writers, Michael Sedor

PBS Logo Performance-enhancing drugs and the Olympics. The proverbial elephant in the room. Someone’s not afraid to talk about it and it’s none other than Victor Conte, head of the infamous Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco) lab and supplier to countless would-be cheaters. In this four-minute long BBC interview he proudly states that “The Olympics are a fraud. It’s all about money. Those who control the money, control the anti-doping policies. They are still inept to this day.” I suppose this is a veiled threat at the U.S.A. Track and Field or maybe it’s just anger at clients who hung him out to dry.

I don’t care either way. Conte’s word is dubious, his intentions are suspect, and his pontificating is contradicted by his actions. What is compelling is the PBS documentary Secrets Of The Dead: Doping For Gold which airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. on most local PBS affiliates. The documentary looks at the East German women athletes of the early seventies. The dozens who the East German secret police systemically and methodically pumped full of testosterones, steroids, and other drugs - most of the time unbeknown to the athletes themselves - and as a result won golds and broke world records.

Glory, however, wasn’t the only side effect. Some women took on very masculine appearances, some experienced extreme weight gain, some lost their reproductive powers, and many have been shattered both physically and psychologically. Both their bodies and their minds have broken down.

The documentary also delves into the Cold War geopolitical-battles-first mentality and the resultant win-at-all-costs sporting environment. The Olympics no longer revolves around competing nations; individual athletes and their personal monetary gain have become the headliners and the motivation. Now individuals, unlike the tragic East German women, are choosing to ravage their own bodies for success. In thirty years will their story mimic the ones profiled in Secrets Of The Dead: Doping For Gold? Only time will tell.