Why the East Germany Female Athletes of 1970s Should Be Stripped off Their Medals - Essay Example

Why the East Germany Female Athletes of 1970’s should be stripped off their medals, and its significance to the society and anti-doping Institution: Introduction The 1970’s and 80’s was marked by unwillingness of Olympics sports firms to combat doping among athletes, heighten drug testing and scientific research that supported claims by athletes that doping would yield better results. It is because of such claims that the German doping program was established. For almost three decades, the East German athletes swam, shot-putted and ran their way to glory through winning Olympic gold medals. This gave them the opportunity to set world records showing superiority of communism. The East Germans enhanced their athletic performance by using performance enhancing drugs through the program that was endorsed by the government through the Olympic sports program. This program aimed at developing and nurturing athletes to win gold medals for the magnificence of East German. These athletes were sacrificed for the glory of the country. These athletes were treated as experimental guinea pigs for performance enhancing drugs and were dropped if they were not productive (Kremenik et al, 2007). However, the facts of the East German case show that the athletes were forced to use the blue steroid pills. The athletes were informed that the pills were vitamin pills. This was a top secret plan that was pioneered by the Olympic head, Ewald (Kremenik et al, 2007). Because of their greed for East German’s magnificence, they lied to the athletes and eventually led to the deterioration of the health condition of numerous athletes. It is imperative to identify that the primary aim of Olympics is not just breaking records, but the feeling of energy that is generated. If athletics was about breaking records then every athlete would make attempts to enhance his or her performance by tying motors on their feet. Doping is a contentious and regular topic in athletics (Pound, 2010). The use of drug enhancing substances not only puts the health of the athlete in danger but also risks losing his or her medal. Athletes represent the vibrancy, human health and the satisfaction of potential. This constitutes the reasons why the International Olympics Committee does not allow doping. Notably, doping makes athletics unfair (Pound, 2010). Athletics should be fair and should offer a ground where the athletes are only differentiated by the level of their skills alone. However, the East German case is a different case where the athletes were subjected to the blue steroid pills. The International Olympics Committee was marred with a huge disconnect with scientific research and despite various researches that were carried on how steroid enhances their performance, the IOC brushed the findings. Doping is a crime Sport acts as a way of expressing the different cultures across the world, which has been in existence since the ancient Greece where people gathered from different sections of the universe in order to show their contributions towards environmental conservation (Pound, 2010). Over the past few years, tactics that deliberately result to the injury of the athletes by the pretext of enhancing their performance have been banned by the authorities governing Olympic and athletic games. These measures have been instated to ensure that the safety levels of the athletes do not decrease over time. Needless to say, the Olympics and athletics regulatory bodies have set minimum standards to ensure compliance, particularly among the athletes who would jeopardize their long-term health to have an edge over the other members. If there were no regulations on doping, then sporting would decadent as the athletes would be involved in a “race to the bottom" (Pound, 2010). This would encourage the desperate athletes to voluntarily put themselves in the hands of the consumption of performance enhancing drugs that have adverse effects on their health. For example, in the case of the East German athletes who were used by the state for the prominence of the state during the 1970’s and 1980’s, they have had various health problems that resulted from the doping government program (Kremenik, 2007). By allowing the athletes to succeed by choosing medals over their health, the competitors can be prompted to use such drugs as well in order to win. Therefore, this would promote the consumption of performance enhancing drugs from voluntary to necessary. Notably, many studies have identified doping as a crime, which is punishable with severe penalties in order to prevent others from taking part. Over the past decade, rules and penalties on doping have been all over the map. In some of the sports, the penalties involve a lifetime suspension, sanctions and being stripped off the medals earned. Therefore, in the case of the East German athletes, there is a need for stern action to be taken for the athletes and the people who were involved in the state sanctioned program. Doping in sports influences the integrity of the sport. As noted, sports do not only involve winning but how an individual played the game (Pound, 2010). Although it is particularly known among the athletes it is either they win or lose the game, the Olympic Movement identifies the spirit of friendliness, solidarity, mutual understanding and fair play as the forces behind sports and athletics. The establishment of the World Anti-Doping Agency was intended to preserve the spirit of sporting and foster or fair play (Kremenik, 2007). Doping is believed to be jeopardy to the ethical and moral basis of sport. This makes the young people shun away from sports, which had been known for the respect of the opponent and compliance to the rules of the game. Fairness in sports is both formal and informal. Formal fairness is exercised when the members voluntarily act in the spirit of the rules, while also considering the principles of informal fairness. On the other hand, informal fairness is seen through the decree by the athletes that they will not partake in the search for performance enhancing substances. Therefore, doping threatens the integrity and fairness of the game (Pound, 2010). First, the athletes who do not use the performance enhancing drugs will be unfairly advantaged since they cannot compete at the same level with the athletes using steroids. Secondly, the integrity of the game is compromised since it will no longer be about who has the best talent or skills but about which athlete has the best steroid cocktail. In this regard, steroid use is contrary to the spirit of sports, which comprises of respect, solidarity and fairness. Therefore, in the case of East German, the use of performance enhancing drugs is not only punishable through the stripping off medals but a ban from future athletic games (James, 2010). Additionally, the conception of mutual respect among competitors was frustrated when East German used performance enhancing drugs to enhance their performance. Therefore, the integrity of sporting can be protected through a stern anti-doping approach and action. This can only be successful by following the rules that have been set forth by WADA and applying penalties and punishments for doping crime. Therefore, the East German team should be stripped off its medals, as a way of conforming to sports rules and those set by WADA (James, 2010). Sport has its own character that is different from the other cultural backgrounds. The validation of the subsistence of competitive sports is questioned by doping, which is so essential to combat it. In competitive sports, the process towards the outcome is as significant as the outcome. What fascinates people in sports is how a team won. For example, to hear the results of rugby match is not so interesting to people, but to learn of how a team did it is fascinating (Pound, 2010). This makes the process of obtaining final results significant in competitive games. Therefore, competitive games should be transparent and comparable. All the games the East German took place in were competitive games and should have been transparent and comparable (Babashoff, 2013). East German’s use of performance enhancing drugs put an end to the ambitions of the competitive games being transparent and open. This, to some degree, ruined the premises to which those sports were built on. Another reason the East German athletes should be stripped off their medals is the fact that doping does not provide equal opportunities to all the athletes. Notably, athletes have equal chances of success. This arises from the fact that athletes undergo similar training methods and opportunities, financial resources and diverse environmental conditions (Babashoff, 2013). Sports offer a ground where athletes have equal opportunities to display their unequal talents. Through doping, an athlete can compensate for any of the environmentally-oriented shortcomings and any lack of ability. By using performance enhancing drugs, the talents of the athletes are removed from the equation. Equality is a way of assessing disparity, and in order to assess the excellent performances, any aspect that has nothing to do with the particular performances should be eliminated from the equation. In this regard, every athlete should show their skills under similar conditions with the dependability and quality of their own capabilities (Pound, 2010). This allows the ranking of athletes to be ranked on the basis of their performances. In this case, the East German athletics used steroids to compensate for their lack of ability, thus attaining their medals wrongly. Through the various studies carried out in 1970’s, it was evident that the East Germans performed well in athletics because they had used steroids. For example, a study by the University of Massachusetts published in 1972 revealed that anyone exposed to steroids or similar energizing drugs experienced an improved voluntary muscular force (Kremenik et al, 2007). Later in 1980, a study in Old Dominion University also revealed that athletes improved their performance after blood doping. When these reports were published, many people and bodies objected the results. However, the athletes knew that such drugs had an effect on their performance. By 1970, East German knew that steroids would enhance the performance of its athletes (James, 2010). As a nation, East German should have been moral and avoided the use of steroids. The country took advantage of the Olympic sports ambiguous viewpoints towards doping. For example, the head of the doping program, Dr. Manfred Hoppner, authorized the use of the performance enhancing drugs in order to prepare the East German athletes for the Munich Olympics in 1972. The series of excellent performances recorded by East German athletes’ shows that East Germany took advantage of the unknown role of steroids in enhancing performance. For example, in 1973 East German female swimmers set seven new world records in swimming and won ten gold medals among the 14 contested races in the inaugural World Swimming Championship (Babashoff, 2013). This shows that the medals were particularly attributed to the use of steroids, which are prohibited drugs in sporting. Needless to say, the other competitors in the swimming races acknowledged that East German swimmers had masculine bodies, deep voices and had a distinct body structure with built muscles that the other competitors lacked. Through the use of steroids, East German made it impossible for the other athletes to have equal opportunities with the East German athletes (James, 2010). As a result, the East German athletics should be stripped off their medals since they did not earn them in the right manner with equal opportunities availed to all the members in the competitions. Needless to say, the swimming coaches acknowledged that the athletes had been given anabolic steroids. However, they noted that not all of them were involved in doping (James, 2010). East German dodged the International Olympics Committee through its extensive research in science that gave it new and better methods of advancing the performance of its athletes. During this period, the IOC was still taking stern measures on anyone who was found doping. East German had developed performance enhancing drugs that would little be detected, which it took advantage of and dodged the IOC (Kremenik et al, 2007). The existence of World Anti-Doping Code and programs focuses on the existence of a doping-free sport thus fostering fairness and equality among the members. The codes and programs detail the punishments and penalties that an individual found doping will be subjected to. Leaving actions of doping without being penalized would lead to more cases of doping. The universe needs to understand that all actions of doping can never go without being punished or penalized. All actions of doping need to be penalized and punished (Pound, 2010). However, one of the major setbacks to stripping off the medals from the athletes is the fact that they were not told of the nature of the blue pills that they were given. It is not apparent whether the blame should go to the communist state of East Germany or also partly to the authorities of the state and the athletes, as well. In all occasions, the athletes were informed that the anabolic steroid pills were merely “supporting means” that were regarded as vitamins (James, 2010). However, it is apparent that most of the athletes were exposed to the steroids without their consent. Additionally, it was acknowledged that East Germany forced its female athletes to get pregnant and terminate the pregnancy three months after, almost immediately before the commencement of the Olympic Games. This was based on the premise that pregnant women produce high amounts of red blood cells and experience beneficial hormonal changes. The red blood cells are produced in large quantities in order to support the foetus (Kremenik et al, 2007). The high number of red blood cells is responsible for ferrying large quantities of oxygen, which could be used by the athlete while running or doing their activity. The high quantities of red blood cells give the athlete an advantage in aerobic capacity and the capability to run longer, and even ride a bicycle with more stamina. Stripping off the medals from the athletes will be stripping off East Germany’s history in Olympic Games. Needless to say, countries such as United States of America have taken legal action against Germany to strip off the women’s relay and swimming gold medallists who won the races in which United States was second (James, 2010). The claim of United States is that the East Germany’s athletes had used steroids, which boosted their performance. Conclusion As identified in the paper, doping is cheating and it is a crime. From the analysis of many sources, it is clear that East Germany athletes were involved in doping, with 10, 000 of them being exposed to doping. Scientific research carried out by the University of Massachusetts and Old Dominion University established that steroids enhanced the performance of athletes. However, the public did not believe the reports, until later. It is also apparent that doping jeopardizes the ethical moral of sports, does not provide equal opportunities to all the athletes, and compromises the integrity and fairness of the sport. These are some of the reasons why doping should not be encouraged and stern actions taken to reduce cases of doping. Therefore, East Germany’s 1970’s and 1980’s athletes should be stripped off their medals because they did not attain them in a just manner that offered equal opportunities to all the athletes. Additionally, they should be stripped off because research identified that many of the athletes were subjected to steroids and taking no stern action would encourage more athletes to be involved in doping. Finally, by taking part in any activity that involved doping violated the World Anti-Doping codes, which set the rules and regulations for sports. References Babashoff, S. (2013, December 2). Dopings Darkest Hour; The East Germans And The 1976 Montreal Games | SWIMMING WORLD. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/lane9/news/world/36899.asp James, K. (2010, October 1). East Germanys doping program casts long shadow over victims | German Reunification | DW.DE | 01.10.2010. Retrieved April 12, 2014, from http://www.dw.de/east-germanys-doping-program-casts-long-shadow-over-victims/a-5968383 Kremenik, M., Onodera, S., Nagao, M., Yuzuki, O., & Yonetani, S. (2007). A historical timeline of doping in the Olympics (PART II 1970-1988). Kawasaki Journal of Medical Welfare, 12(2), 69-83. Pound, R. W. (2010). Inside Dope: How Drugs Are the Biggest Threat to Sports, Why You Should Care, and What Can Be Done About Them. John Willey & Sons. Read More