Download Discuss the use of steroids to enhance performance in athletic

Discuss the use of steroids to enhance performance in athletic events.
6 marks
Steroids are a drug that stimulates the male hormone testosterone. This allows for the
drug to have a number of effects on the body.
Steroids allow athletes to train for much longer with greater intensity. This allows the
athlete to gain considerable muscle strength and size very quickly. Steroids also reduce
the time required for recovery after training or competing.
The increase in strength and size make steroids very useful for many sports particularly in
contact sports owing to increase in aggression. However in athletics they are also very
prominent owing to enhanced strength and training so they can be very tempting for
athletes. Many sprinters have been caught in recent years exploiting steroids, eg. Asafa
Powell and Dwaine Chambers.
The use is due to athletes coming under huge pressure to win and seeing drugs as the
only way. Steroids also offer enhancement for throwing events, shotput and discus. Due to
their known effects many are produced for athletes specially in the hope they are not
detected, leading to better results. However, this gives those athletes on steroids an unfair
advantage.
Due to this it is illegal to consume steroids as a professional sportsman, as sport would
become a question of drugs not competitors. There are many adverse effects of steroids
also. The shrinking of male genitals, the increased aggression, increased blood pressure,
liver and kidney failure.
Not only is it very poor sportsmanship to try and beat others by using steroids but it also
has serious repercussions. The health of the athlete may deteriorate in later life with
issues such as kidney and liver problems and any of the many cardiac issues associated
with high blood pressure. It can also cause infertility in both genders.
Furthermore athletes found abusing steroids can face serious sanctions. They can be
banned from competing in their sport for a number of years. They can be fined heavily and
have their race winnings taken from them. Their titles and records can be revoked as
Dwaine Chambers European champion one was.
I conclude that athletes can feel under pressure to take steroids to enhance their
performance. However this can also cause serious repercussions in terms of health and
lifestyle.