In 1967 the International Olympic Committee began to ban the use of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and integrated mandatory testing of athletes participating in the Games. Over the course of the next several years, the list of banned substances expanded to include anabolic steroids (1975). Beginning with the 1976 Olympics, East German athletes began to dominate the Games. No East German athletes tested positive during the Olympic Games from 1976 to 1988 even though evidence from after the fall of the Berlin Wall confirms the use of PEDs. World and national records in track and field set by East German athletes still stand today even with new training techniques and the wide range of talented athletes that continue to compete in the Games. Therefore, this project investigates East Germany’s use of PEDs from 1974 to 1988 in the Olympic Games. More specifically, this project focuses on the parallels of PEDs, the evolution of drug regulations, and how these aspects impacted East Germany’s athletic performance in track and field within the given time period.

Use of performance enhancing drugs by East German athletes in the olympic games from 1974 to 1988

ACS Spring 2022

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