Victims of the victory pill

HEALTH

Monika Devi paid for failing a dope test. Some athletes pay all their lives.

Reduced to a single competitor, the Indian Weightlifting Federation put Monika Devi through 30 drug tests in 18 months. Yet, just as she was about to fly to Beijing as India’s sole Olympic weightlifter, results came in from a test by the Sports Authority of India: she had tested positive for an anabolic salt.

Steroids, which are hormones, or chemical messengers that control processes in the body, have a dual effect. First, they promote cell growth, which helps the body generate greater quantities of muscle-building protein and red blood cells to carry more oxygen to the muscles — a distinct competitive advantage. Steroids also increase male characteristics, such as body hair, a deeper voice and even sexual features; and they help reduce the amount of fat in the muscles.

There are also side effects, some of which are permanent. The life stories of several former East German star athletes who unknowingly received vast doses of steroids from their coaches is well- known. Some women athletes were so heavily dosed that functionally they became male — and remained male, forced to change their very identity.

Other less drastic but equally pernicious side effects include high blood pressure and cholesterol, acne and cardiovascular disease. Since the heart is also muscle, it can suffer modification including a thickening of its walls, which leads to a greater risk of heart attack. The liver has to metabolise chemicals in the blood, so it bears the brunt of the steroid onslaught.

Counter-intuitively, too much anabolic steroids in male athletes can cause feminisation — excess steroids may be converted to oestrogen. Some men develop breasts and become infertile.

Athletes have been using steroids for decades despite these well-known fears, which suggests that they do work. But they’re not the only way to enhance performance.

Technology is a great prop for athletes, as experts produce more helpful shoes, clothing, foods, training equipment and techniques — which all athletes cannot afford equally. When the moral lines are already blurred, the soundest argument to make against drugs in sport is that, in the long term, you’re sure to lose.