The use of Anabolic Steroids in Swimming.

University Degree Biological Sciences

Content

Page

What are Steroids? 4

The Historical development of Steroids in sports. 6

Types of Steroids. 9

Side Effects derived from the prolonged or incorrect use of Anabolic Steroids. 10

Abuse of Anabolic steroids in Swimming 13

Conclusion 16
Introduction

Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly common for sportsmen and women to use substances to aid their performance. That is not to say all competitors use illegal substances, however when competitors start to use illegal substances, they ridicule the whole ethos of sport and competition. I cannot see the point of people competing when they are using a substance which is bound to give themselves an unfair advantage over other competitors, who are trying their level best to win fairly.

Swimming has seen a spate of drug related incidents. It has been reported that in the 1980's Russian female swimmers were being injected with the male hormone testosterone. The athletes were given no choice as to whether or not to take the hormone, if they didn't they would be out of the national team. The women involved were given huge performance boosts, and Russia was looked upon as one of the strongholds in sporting excellence. However, eventually the women suffered terrible side effects ranging from deepening of the women's voice and the growth of hair in unusual places for women, to the women never being able to have children. Unfortunately the women involved never knew of the consequences.

More recently the Chinese female swimming team were found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs after a national swimming meeting in Australia. It is not always the fault of the athlete often the pressures of friends, family, and the media make athletes take illegal substances.

What are Steroids?

Steroids are chemical compounds that affect metabolism, which is the process of changing food into energy. There are two types of steroids – anabolic and corticoid. Cortico-steroids, which do not build or enhance muscle tissue growth, are used to treat infections, arthritis, asthma, and certain cancers. Anabolic steroids, or as they should more properly be called anabolic-androgenic steroids, promote anabolism, i.e., constructive metabolism.

steroids are male sex , or androgens, that promote growth. Your body produces them naturally, but they can also be produced synthetically in a laboratory. Both men and women produce these steroids. Men produce more steroids than women, which tend to make men's muscles larger and stronger. Synthetic steroids are very similar to natural ones.

Physicians can use anabolic steroids as a treatment for a variety of conditions. In very small and controlled doses, steroids can, among other things, encourage people with muscle-wasting conditions to gain weight, control certain breast cancers, treat blood disorders, heal severe burns and relieve bone pain for people who have osteoporosis. Not all steroids are made from hormones, nor are all hormones made of steroids. Physicians use another steroid called corticosteroid, also known as . This catabolic steroid helps reduce swellings in the body.

Some people use anabolic steroids to build their muscles and increase their endurance and speed. Since the 1950s, some athletes have used anabolic steroids to enhance their performance in competitions. But using steroids like this can cause side effects that are very serious.

Steroids can cause liver disorders, stunted growth in children and teenagers, personality changes, ulcerous acne and high cholesterol levels. Because steroids are made from synthetically produced testosterone, which imitates human sex hormones, they can also cause wasting of the testicles, impotence and negative changes in sexuality. Sometimes, when steroids are used illegally, they are injected with needles. Sharing these needles can also pass on the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, HIV, that causes the deadly disease AIDS.

The Historical development of Steroids in sports

The controversial issue of steroid abuse is among the most popular of the controlled substance problems. Steroid usage in sports has many moral and ethical questions, but this has not always been the case. This situation with steroid is a case of socio-cultural evolution as an adaptive process. Through examining the history of steroids, the patterns of large- scale societies, and the interacting networks of societies, we can then begin to understand the evolution of steroids in sports.
On November 28 of 1990 president George Bush signed the Anabolic Steroid Control Act, which solidified anabolic steroids as a schedule III controlled substance in the United States.

It has been known for centuries the male testis affect the masculine characteristics of a man. However, it wasn’t until 1849 when scientist Berthold experimented with influential chemicals produced by the testis. His results foreshadowed the fundamentals of endocrinology, which is the study of internal secretions and endocrine glands.

Steroids slowly worked their way into the sports world starting in the 1950’s. It first began in men’s weightlifting competition in parts of Europe and Russia, shortly after spreading to North America. The steroids spread in the same fashion to the female athlete during the mid 1960’s. Since then steroid use has diffused into other sports all around the world. Over the past three decades anabolic steroids has increased significantly in sports, and is no longer limited to elite athletes. Even though there are reported higher rates of steroids in competitive sports, there are also reported higher rates of steroids ...

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In the 1950’s scientist discover that testosterone had two distinct components, anabolic and androgenic. The androgenic aspect gives the masculine features. The term “anabolic” means tissue building. They began searching for ways to separate the two components, and soon realized that it was not possible to completely separate the two. This is how synthetic steroids were developed. Scientist began trying to create a pure anabolic steroid with less androgenic. They discovered that there were fewer side effects when there was less androgenic in the steroid, however there was less anabolic as well. The word steroid comes from the Greek language meaning solid. With out going in to great detail of how anabolic steroids chemically work; steroids affectively increase protein synthesis and cellular repair. All steroids share the number 17-carbon atom, and the number of atoms attached to it determines what type of steroid they are. Anabolic steroids are a derivative of testosterone, which is produced naturally in men and women. Men produce up to 10mgs/day and women about 10 times less than that. They are major regulators of mechanisms found within the human body. This is because they control almost every chemical reaction in our bodies. Anabolic steroids can be taken by mouth, by injection, and more recently by shin cream and patches.

Athletes use Anabolic steroids because of the increased gains. A boost of hormones increases the influential reaction within the body, and therefore increases their physical capabilities. Through anabolic steroids athletes can alter their body composition, increase strength, increase endurance, speed up recovery times, and enhance athletic performance.

The spread of steroids in North America has affected many sports besides bodybuilding, such as basketball, swimming, gymnastics, football, lacrosse, softball, and many others. Football players embraced anabolic steroids in the 1960’s.

It has been almost three decades since drug testing was introduced to sports in the Olympic games. Drug testing is now used in professional sports, collegiate sports, and to a small extent high school sports. There has been many advances in drug tested since being first introduced, but at the same time cheating methods have also evolved and become more sophisticated. Although drug tests are preferably done using urine, they can also be done using blood, hair, and saliva. Even though many athletes disagree with the impersonal urine test, it is the most effective drug-detecting test. Besides being effective, urine is also readily available and easily collected. Although the drug testing procedures are very effective and precise, athletes are still finding ways to beat the system.

Lastly, the tremendous cost of drug testing is a major draw back. Widespread drug testing cost million of dollars. The question is whether scares resources should be used in order to rectify this relentless problem.

Types of Steroids

Oral Steroids: Most people that consider using steroids are concerned that they wont be able to inject themselves and therefore turn to oral steroids only. This makes oral steroids very popular in the bodybuilding community even though they have been known to be particularly hard on the liver. This is true because they have shorter "half-lives" than injectables. The half-life of a particular steroid is how long it stays active in your system. Because orals have a shorter half-life than injectables, they need to be taken more often. Depending on the quality of the drug, the potency of the drug, and the person, most oral steroid have a half-life of around 3-5 hours and therefore have to be taken several times a day throughout the particular cycle. This puts a huge strain on the liver. Oral steroids that are 17-alpha alkylated put even more strain on the liver.

Injectable Steroids: Injectable steroids are considered safer as far as steroid use is concerned because they don't have to be digested. Injectable steroids have a longer half-life (in general) and are usually the choice of experienced steroid users.

These are the commonly abused steroids:

Oral Steroids: Anadrol (Oxymetholone), Oxandrin (Oxandrolone), Dianabol (Methandrosteolone) and Winstrol (Stanozolol)

Injectable Steroids: Deca-Durabolin (Nandrolone decanoate), Durabolin (Nandrolone phenpropionate), Depo-Testosterone (Testosterone cypionate) and Equipoise (Boldenone Undecylenate) Others include:

Side Effects derived from the prolonged or incorrect use of Anabolic Steroids.

The reason for banning anabolic steroids is supported by many ethical issues. The most evident issue is the physical and mental health consequence of using steroids. The physical side effects are both short and long term, but all pose potential risk to athlete’s health.

The list consists of altered physical appearance, muscle and bone injuries, infertility, heart disease, stroke and heart attack, prostate disease, liver disease and cancer. The psychological effects are less obvious but are equally important. In controlled clinical settings patients showed an increase in mental alertness, mood elevations, improved memory and concentration, and a reduction of fatigued sensations. According to Phillips (1991) During the past decades there have been reported cases of increased aggression, also referred to as “Roid rage”.

Although many scientists believe that increased aggression is possible, not all studies reach the conclusion that roid rage is possible. Athletes are confronted with the issue of physical and psychological dependence. Several studies done have shown that athletes can experience physical, and mental addictions after taking doses of anabolic steroids. Of course the biggest factor leading to these negative side effects is misuse/abuse.
The following are additional effects of steroid use:

Civilization

This is a group of side effects that are specific to women users. Virilization refers to attaining the characteristics of a mature male. Most often the first sign of this adverse reaction is hoarseness leading to deepness of the voice. This adverse reaction seems to be irreversible as permanent changes in the larynx take place. Clitoral enlargement is another common adverse reaction noticed by women steroid users. The extent to which this will occur depends on the type of steroid and the duration of use. Facial hair is also a sign of virilization. It too is irreversible and occurs primarily with the use of androgens. Others signs of virilization include, amenorrhea (absence of menstrual periods), and a change in skin texture. Women have cited facial characteristics changing to resemble those of a male. Women have also cited suffering depression and anxiety while using anabolic steroids as well as fever and illness. Obviously, women are more likely to suffer virilizing effects while using testosterones, Dianabol, Finajet, and other high androgens.

Feminization

This is specific to males and basically the reverse of virilization where the male may display some female characteristics such as the development of breasts and high levels of estrogen in the body.

Impotence

Many male athletes suffer transient changes in the libido as they go on and off steroid cycles. On many occasions, males go through a heightened sexual interest early in a steroid cycle accompanied by increased frequency and duration of erections. With prolonged use, this reaction rebounds, leaving the athlete with little capability of maintaining an erection if they so desired. This condition is reversible and can be avoided in many cases. The physiological factors that contribute to impotence include a decreased production of natural testosterone by the testes as the exogenous steroid short-circuits the natural endocrine feedback system. Occasionally, an athlete who uses high dosages of only anabolic items can have such an imbalance between anabolic and androgenic hormones that the androgenic effects that control the ability to maintain an erection become diluted.

Sterility

High dose anabolic steroid administration has extreme effects on the body's natural endocrine system functions. Nearly all steroid users will have subnormal values in these areas during a cycle. In fact, there is research being conducted in parts of Europe that is examining the possibility of using testosterone as a male birth control injection. As reported in the Lancet Medical Journal of England, testosterone injections in males showed a 99.2% effective rate as a contraceptive. That is compared to the birth control pill at 97%. That study included 271 men in 7 different countries. In this case, a side effect would be used as the drugs indication. Sterility seems to be a temporary condition; in an examination of bodybuilders who had stopped the consumption of anabolic steroids greater than four months previously, sperm numbers were in the normal range.

Adrenal Genital Syndrome

This is a rare side effect that occurs when genetic females are exposed to too many androgens during the prenatal period. Such females are born with what appears to be male reproductive organs. This can occur when a female uses anabolic steroids during critical phases of gestation.

Enlarged Prostate

Anabolic steroid use has been tied to benign enlargement of the prostate. A physical exam can determine if the prostate is enlarged before it becomes problematic. This condition can be treated and is another area that an athlete should have monitored at least once a year.

Acne

The occurrence of acne in steroid users is highest amongst teens and young men. It can also be severe in women. These persons may also suffer from Baldness.

Abuse of Anabolic steroids in Swimming

Irrespective of the humiliation meted out to those athletes found to be using banned anabolic steroids many professional and college swimmers continue to use banned anabolic steroids to increase stamina for training, increase body mass for strength and to reduce body fat.

The athletes that abuse these substances willing seem to be unaware of the repercussions their actions have on the reputation of their associates and the integrity of the sport. The repercussions also extend to the group, institution or nation that they represent. Even if it is in a sport not connected with the country it still makes that country look bad. Other countries will soon begin to look doubtfully on all of the athletes in that country. Because of this countries have to set up expensive drug testing facilities, just to keep an air of integrity. It cost's the country so much more money to fund these testing facilities, that they cannot support the real athletes, those who want to train to win, those that want to practice to succeed not those who want an easy option of drugs.

Positive drug tests by swimmers by country

China (44 with two swimmers caught twice)
USA (12)
Russia/USSR (one swimmer caught twice) (10)
Great Britain (8)
Spain (7)
France (6)
Italy, Australia (5)
Austria, Greece (one swimmer caught twice) (4)
Belgium, Poland, Brazil, South Africa, Syria (3)
Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Cyprus, Croatia, Mexico, Ukraine (2)
Tunisia, Egypt, Argentina, Indonesia, Finland, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Slovenia, Ecuador, Slovakia, Latvia, Singapore, Romania, Hungary, Costa Rica, Nederland. Belarus (1)
Excused (no sanction): Nederlands (one swimmer twice), Greece (1)
Not counted: USA (swimmer retired) (1)

Individuals who tested positive for banned substances

RICK DEMONT (USA) tested positive for the stimulant ephedrine that was contained in a declared asthma medication at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. After winning the 400 m freestyle event his medal was confiscated. This was more a case of official bungling as the swimmer had declared his medication to USOC officials who did not follow through. Appeals are still being conducted.
SIMON GRAY (Great Britain) tested positive for panancaymin in 1982.
ANGEL MYERS (USA) widely reported as having tested positive for an anabolic steroid at the 1988 US Olympic Trials. However, it was a steroid derivative, the same metabolite found in an original prescription she was taking. Suspended for two years.
ASTRID STRAUS (Germany) tested positive for testosterone on June 1, 1992 at a national swimming competition. Suspended for 18 months.
LU BIN (F - China) tested positive for dihydrotestosterone during FINA out-of-competition testing on September 29, 1994. Suspended for two years.
PETTERI LEHTINEN (Finland) tested positive for salbutamol, a restricted beta-2 agonist used for treating respiratory problems such as asthma, on March 16, 1995. Suspended for two years by FINA, which was subsequently cancelled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Some individuals might consider it unfair to include this notation in this list but while Rick Demont and Samantha Riley are included it should stay. Lehtinen had declared his medication and it was once again official bungling that precipitated this situation.
ANTHONY CHADWICK (New Zealand) tested positive for salbutamol, a restricted beta-2 agonist used for treating respiratory problems such as asthma, on July 26, 1995. Suspended for two years by FINA, which was subsequently cancelled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Some individuals might consider it unfair to include this notation in this list but while Rick Demont and Samantha Riley are included it should stay.
JESSICA FOSCHI (USA) tested positive for mesterolone at the 1995 Summer National Championships. Suspended for two years by FINA, reduced to six months by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The CAS also ordered FINA to pay 15,000 Swiss Francs towards Foschi's expenses. US Swimming also had to pay her $92,000.
BIRGIT KONWALINKA (Austria) tested positive for nandrolone in out-of-competition testing on April 26, 1995. Suspended for two years.
DARREN LANGE (Australia) tested positive for pseudoephedrine at a national swimming competition on June 30, 1995. Received a warning.
SAMANTHA RILEY (Australia) tested positive for dextropropoxyphene at the World Short Course Championships in December 1995. Sanctioned with a strong warning.
PU SHI (F - China) tested positive for anabolic steroids on January 21, 1996 at a regional qualifying competition. Suspended for two years.
WOUTER HARTEEL (Belgium) tested positive for ephedrine at a national swimming competition on February 8, 1996. Suspended for three months.
ROBERT ROSIAK (Poland) tested positive for amphetamine at a national swimming competition on February 27, 1996. Suspended for two years.
SERGIO LOPEZ MIRO (Spain) tested positive for pseudoephedrine at the national winter swimming championships on February 28, 1996. Received a warning.
KONRAD GALKA (Poland) tested positive for ephedrine at a national winter swimming competition on March 6, 1996. Received a six-month suspension.
FERNANDO ALAEZ (Spain) tested positive for pemoline at a national swimming competition on March 7, 1996. Received a disqualification.
FRANTISEK ZAHRADNIK (Slovakia) tested positive for metenolone at a national swimming competition on May 18, 1996. Suspended for four years.
CHRISTOPHE STEVENS (Belgium) tested positive for ephedrine at a national swimming competition on August 24, 1996. Suspended for three months.
ANDREI KORNEEV (Russia) tested positive for bromantan at the Atlanta Olympic Games. The IOC stripped him of his bronze medal for the 200 m breaststroke.
NICOLAS PERREAUX (Belgium) tested positive for ephedrine at a national swimming competition on December 7, 1996. Suspended for three months.
MATTHEW DOUGLAS (Great Britain) tested positive for ephedrine on January 4, 1997 after a swimming meet in Birmingham. He received a lifetime ban from the British Olympic Association. His appeal was successful and the ban lifted on July 6, 2000, when the BOA's Independent Appeal Panel lifted the suspension as they judged the offence, his first, to be only minor.
NATALIA SOUTIAGINA (Russia) tested positive for bromantan at a national swimming competition on May 18, 1997. Suspended for six months.
HUGO DUPREE (Brazil) tested positive for nandolone on October 12, 1997. Former Brazilian 100BF champion. Suspended for four years since this is his third consecutive positive test. Positive result for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.
ERIC BORGES (Brazil) tested positive for nandrolone at a national competition on November 15, 1997. Suspended for four years.
RAY CAREY (USA) did not show on three occasions for testing in 1997. This swimmer is not counted in the tally of this site as he had retired from the sport, a status finally recognized by FINA.
YUAN YUAN (F - China) attempted to smuggle 13 vials of somatropin (human growth hormone) through customs at Sydney, Australia Airport on January 7, 1998 on the way to the Perth World Championships. Banned for four years.
MARCEL WOUDA tested for an unacceptably high testosterone: epitestosterone ratio at the FINA World Cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 25, 1999. No sanction was applied as FINA deemed the positive result was an elevated physiological condition.

Conclusion

Anabolic steroids abuse in sports is not an organizational problem, nor an individual problem. However, it is a large-scale problem affecting many societies. The phenomenon remains fairly new in Jamaican swimming. There is cause to worry however as the Jamaican athletes progression is rapid. In particular the sport of swimming seems to have taken off at the international level. Our athletes have entered the realm of cultural competition where “roid” rage is prominent and most destructive. Although steroids have been a problem in sports for decades, there are possible alternatives.

The first social solution is the route of launching an education programme. There are two approaches of looking at this alternative. Firstly, with the ample amount of information we have about steroids, we can precisely educate about the dangers of steroids. If we educate the youth about anabolic steroids it is possible they will choose not to use anabolic steroid, and hopefully spawning a generation of drug free athletes. However, this same solution could have the opposite effect. Educating athletes about the health risks and the ethical dangers involved with anabolic steroids shows some promise for sports. Unfortunately in order to decline the abuse of steroid in sports we cannot rely totally on education as a strategy.

Another possible social solution is interdiction. Interdiction involves drug testing, drug laws, and all other anti drug enforcement. In the United States this solution has been implemented, but has failed to diminish the amount of steroid abuse in sports. We can consider strengthening the drug laws and penalties, but that many further drive the steroid problem underground. It is difficult to be optimistic about the interdiction strategy, because of the difficulty to monitor and control the anabolic steroid market internationally and more importantly in the Jamaican market where underground markets thrive. The drug testing strategy has help to some extent, but athletes are discovering new ways to use steroids without being detected. Furthermore Interdiction is a helpful solution in many ways, but has not and may not solve the abuse of steroids in sports.

Lastly, legalization of anabolic steroids proposes that if steroids were legalized many figures in sports including athlete, would be forced to not be hypocrites. It also proposes changing the traditional image of sports, by accepting the fact the athlete uses drugs to develop their bodies. The disadvantage of legalizing steroid is that many more athletes would suffer physical harm and even death. It would also change sports for the worst. Athletes would be biochemical machines and not hard working individuals. Sports would loose its appeal to many fans, which is likely to turning them away from the sports.

The possible solutions to the problem must become apart of societal norm in order to be effective. It is my belief that in order to reach a successful resolution we must combine a few social alternatives. Firstly we must implement an educational program that teaches prevention of steroids abuse. These prevention programs should teach athlete starting from youth, how to develop your body drug free. The programs should contain an equal amount education on anabolic steroids, weight lifting skills, and nutrition. Secondly, we must continue to implement interdiction to the already existing enforcements. Although anabolic steroids are mostly available on the black market, we most find a way to control its availability. To ultimately change the abuse of steroids in sports we must first change our values.

Many of the methods to prevent drug abuse are still developing, which excuses some of the failure. The prevention programs should stress the importance of changing social values in sports. If we truly want to eliminate the steroid abuse in sports, we have to get to the root of the problem. The problem lies deep within are social values.

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