The role of steroids in the enhancement of the athletic performances of various individuals is nothing that can easily be swept under the carpet. There are numerous cases that span back as far as the 60s where athletes have been known to take steroid drugs so as to increase their chances of out-performing their rivals. The first incidences that really caught the public eye have to do with the weightlifters that were supposedly put on steroids by their American medical physician and as a result they were able to break the world records that stood at the time. This was the onset of such unfortunate incidences. The former East Germany was renowned for the notoriety of its athletes as far as this form of cheating is concerned.

While we are still on the case of the East German athletes we cannot help but recall the group of female athletes who were issued with enough steroids to ten times outweigh the amounts that their bodies could produce in a single day. After a short span of time these girls developed the characteristic symptoms that have been associated with the negative view with which these substances are looked at. They began breaking their voices and they also started exhibiting very masculine properties that could not be ignored. These effects were just the tip of the iceberg. The real big symptoms were yet to be experienced. These were finally indicated when the girls began to develop queer tumors, they began showing symptoms that also included lots of internal bleeding. This was not all. The girls began to suffer from liver complications and they also bore deformed babies. Just to indicate how serious these effects were on the girls themselves, they slipped into depression mode; it was really a sad issue.

All this occurred because these girls were coerced into using these substances by their coaching staff. After the effects were exposed it was resolved that the use of steroids was to be curtailed as much as possible. This could have been the case but sadly things took a turn for the worst and the predicaments that are being faced to this day ensue because of the actions that were taken by a few athletes.

Rather than wait for their coaches to force them onto steroids they did so themselves; willingly if I may add. This turn of behavior was seen as a loophole by equally unscrupulous individuals who made it their business to develop drugs that would be effective but hard to trace at the same time. The use of steroids has found a home amongst athletes who are involved in the short races, the sprints. If you are not a keen sports fan then I will inform you that the short races include the 100m and the 200m sprints. Athletes in these categories have taken to using minute levels of enhancers until they gain the experience to win big races. Well, the ploy has worked to some extent but it is unfortunate that some who have become household names lose their glory just as fast as they run. Marion Jones and Ben Johnson are very good examples.