ANABOLIC STEROIDS AND FEMALE ATHLETES
Report #6878 7/24/96
What do you think when female athletes from one country start breaking world records when the men from that same country produce mediocre performances in the same events?
The women have to be taking male hormones to make themselves stronger. The East German female swimmers dominated world swimming in 1972, while their men didn't. The Chinese female swimmers dominated world swimming in 1992, while their men didn't. They should have competed against men because they took male hormones. A 1996 Olympic champion broke a world record because she was able to train harder than ever before. Male hormones help athletes to recover faster from hard workouts so they can train harder.
Can a woman take male hormones, even though there is no concrete evidence that she has? Yes! Even slight changes in male blood hormone levels can convert mediocre female athletes into champions. A normal woman has a blood level of testosterone between 10 and 100. Those who have levels below 20 usually are not aggressive and have smaller muscles and bones. Those who have normal levels near 100 are usually much more aggressive and have much larger muscles and bones. Since small increases in testosterone manufactured by a woman's body can increase athletic success, giving small amounts of these same hormones can also improve athletic prowess without raising blood testosterone levels much above those thought to be normal.
By Gabe Mirkin, M.D., for CBS Radio News