History of Steroids
It would seem that steroid use existed as far back as when competitive games first started. In fact during the ancient Olympics in Greece athletes would eat a lot of meat and herbs long before the actual games in order to enhance performance. In 480 BC the winner who got the most money said he ate only meat for 10 months. And almost 300 years later Olympic athletes would eat lots of sheep testicles which had lots of testosterone.
At that time the sportsmen would rely on ancient folklore and remedies in order to increase their performance. And even then, they did it all for the prize money. Today the story is the same.
Early development of steroids
Both the then USSR and Germany have been pioneers in the field of medicine. The countries used to lead in medical research and development. It is no wonder then that in 1936, the German Olympic team was rumored to use testosterone, though it was oral testosterone. In 1952m the Russian Olympic team did very well and in 1954 during the World Weightlifting Championships, they made a name for themselves, thanks to testosterone injections given to the team members.
This prompted the American team physician Dr. John Ziegler to work with pharmaceutical company, Ciba, to develop a testosterone derivative, called Methandrostenolone or Dianabol in 1956. As a result by the 1960s, American weightlifters were in a strong position. With this success the research and development of different anabolic steroids gained ground.
The wins enthused other countries to start experimenting with and using anabolic steroids in an attempt to win. And soon anabolic steroid use became rampant. At that time there were no bans on steroid use nor were there any tests or even awareness of ‘doping’.
The reasons for the ban on the use of steroids
Ethical physicians were alarmed by the rampant use of steroid drugs. Even more, the World Health Organization complained about the use and profitability of steroid drugs, being sold in third world countries. The side effects of the use of steroid drugs came to be documented and this was another reason that use of steroids made headlines. And then there was the fact that the spirit of free and fair games, which has always been a cornerstone of sports was vitiated. After all, the sportsperson using anabolic steroids had a distinctly unfair advantage when compared to a person who did not use any performance enhancing drugs.
All these factors led to a ban on the use of steroid drugs in sports. However athletes continued to use the drugs and in the main managed to beat the tests. It is only with stringent tests and other evidence that sportspeople were caught. Scandals erupted not only in the Olympics and other games, but also cast a cloud over baseball and football, with players routinely being stripped of their medals.
The current scenario
While steroid use is banned in sports, that does not mean that steroids are not used. In fact their use and abuse has percolated down to people who do not necessarily participate in competitive sports, like body builders, gymmers and even high school athletes. This has resulted in further problems among teens and youngsters as early anabolic steroid use has many unwanted and permanent side effects, particularly when started at a young age.
As anabolic steroids have legitimate medical uses, they cannot be banned. But young people and sports people need to be made aware of the danger of illegal steroid use and abuse.