Athletes Doping Despite IOC Crackdown

Sept. 28 -- They train for years, giving up the lazy hours of childhood and putting off promising careers, all in a quest to be the best in the world.

So why, after all that, would an Olympic athlete risk losing it all by taking anything that could result in a positive drug test?

Drug use has been a problem in Olympic sports for decades — Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was stripped of his gold medal at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 after a urine test disclosed banned steroids. But the problem has cast an especially dark pall over this year’s Summer Games. In the most notable case, Romanian gymnast Andreea Raducan was stripped of her gold medal after testing positive for pseudoephedrine, a stimulant. Romanian officials said the drug was in two cold tablets given to her by a team doctor.

And in another instance, Olympic officials said C.J. Hunter, the world shot put champion who is not competing in Sydney due to an injury, had tested positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone. Hunter’s nutrionist claims the positive result was the product of the nutritional supplement Hunter was taking.

Money and Fame

Some experts say the financial rewards of being a medalist are a factor.

“I think the answer is in the money and the fame and the fact that it’s sometimes the only thing in their lives,” says Doriane Coleman, senior lecturer at Duke University School of Law and two-time Swiss National Champion in the 800-meter run.

Some athletes use performance enhancers, despite the fact that these substances and methods are harmful to their health, and often cause short and long-term damage.

“Athletes do it because they do what it takes to win. And if there is a pill out there or an injection that will build stronger and faster muscles or increase speed, in the end, they’ll do it because there is an extreme amount of money for winning a gold medal or setting a world record,” says Dr. Robert Voy, former chief medical officer for the United States Olympic Committee.