Sydney Morning Herald – 11/1/07:
THEY are the 69 children of a small part of the drugged generation of sporting stars. But instead of inheriting their parent’s athletic ability, the children have been shown to have serious medical issues at rates much higher than that of the general population. Seven have physical deformities and four are mentally handicapped.
A recently published two-year study of 52 Olympic and elite-level former East German athletes, now aged between 40 and 60, conducted by the Germany University, Humboldt, has revealed shocking medical consequences of the forced consumption of anabolic steroids.
Dr Spitzer said in addition to the high rate of physical and mental handicaps in the offspring of the 52 athletes, more than a quarter of the children have allergies and 23 per cent have asthma.
He said the risk of miscarriage and stillbirth in the athletes was a staggering 32 times higher than in the normal German population.
Dr Spitzer told the Play the Game conference in Iceland that the doped athletes, all of whom didn’t know the “vitamins” they were forced to take on a daily basis were anabolic steroids, continued to be plagued with serious medical consequences.
“all of whom didn’t know the “vitamins” they were forced to take on a daily basis were anabolic steroids”
Oh, Really???
I believe that they did not know the consequences to their offspring. I do find it hard to believe that they thought their muscle growth / increased anger / decreased testicular size, etc. were because of vitamins.
That’s a pretty amazing insight. I never would have guessed that pumping your ass full of chemicals might impact your kids.
“If your not gonna be smart, then you gotta be tough”
Now we know what the next generation will be – to follow on from MLB and the NFL.
It makes you wonder how are the children of the American Athletes are faring too.
Nah, sporting at the Olympic level is good for ya…
Just imagine what the offspring of body builders will be like. And sometimes both parents load up with roids.
The study was of former East Germany athletes. The former government cared more about the performance than they did about the health of the athlete. As well, I have no problem believing that they were actually told they were vitamins. Those East Germany athletes never knew what they were fed.
#8 – Did the men not know they were competing in the women’s division, too?
Wow, I can’t believe I’m the first to say this…
I bet those deformed kids really kick ass in the Special Olympics!
Aren’t birth defects up across the board?
#10 – I know… I trained all year and all I got was this freaking Bronze!
#11 – Aren’t birth defects up across the board?
…of directors?
#8. Yup. And feeling very insecure, never knowing when/if the ax was going to come down on their neck.
They certainly did not know the dangers of the drugs they were taking, even if they sort of knew that what they were taking were not vitamins.
Angel, for quite a bit of that period, the US representative to the Olympics was a real hard ass toward the US contestants. I’d be very surprised if any from that era got away with any drugs at all.
#10 …really kick ass…
Well, the ones born with two legs do well, but the ones born with only one leg….
At least Lance doesn’t have to worry about this…
Strangely enough I never connected the fact that I had noticed that a lot of the kids of big league baseball and football players do have a variety of problems. There seems to be quite a few of them with ADD and Dyslexia, heart defects, and a larger number than the general public of kids with cerebal palsey.
I guess I just figured it was because of their parent’s high profile it was more noticable….steroids never entered my mind.