Drugs in sport

Title

Drugs in sport

Genre

Interview; Documentary; Advertisement

TX Date

Unknown

Year of production

1988

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Duration

00:52:20

Description

Drugs in Sport. Programme 4: The use of performance-enhancing anabolic steroids by athletes, despite potentially deadly health risks. Bodybuilder, Dan Duchaine and former Olympic medallist David Jenkins, along with their business partners Juan Javier Macklis and Pat Dylan(?), produced steroids in Mexico, which they then distributed to the US. Duchaine and Jenkins explain the effects of steroids, why athletes are diven to use them, how they came to be involved with their creation and distribution, and how they smuggled them across the border from Mexico. Assistant US Attorney, Philip Halpern tells of how the National Steroid Task Force operated a sting operation to apprehend the steroid traffickers. Juan Javier Macklis says that it was not his responsibility to know where the steroids were being distributed. Weightlifter Tony Fitton, five times British Champion, was jailed for dealing steroids in America; he says he does not see himself as a criminal and believes that the Government has done more harm than good by prohibiting Dianabol. David Jenkins owns a legitimate company, Olympus Foods (a sports and vitamin company) and says that drug-taking in the Olympics is widespread. Includes a clip of the 1988 men’s 100 metre final between Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis after which Johnson was stripped of his gold medal after testing positive for steroid use. Jenkins admits to taking anabolic steroids in the run-up to the 1976 Olympics. Three times British Hammer Champion, Barry Williams - who successfully overturned a ban for steroid use - says that drug testing simply drives athletes to use drugs that are not detected. Dan Duchaine says that the trouble with steroids abuse is that the people who use them have a certain temperament (which he he calls steroid psychosis). An unidentified male says that the danger of steroids use is that you cannot be sure of the strength of what you are taking - in some cases, the drugs were designed for animals. David Singh(?) was a bodybuilder who died from steroid use. Singh’s widow says he was very health-conscious and regulated his steroid use whilst the surgeon who operated on him says that steroids place peoples’ lives at risk. David Jenkins concludes by saying that doping control in sport is a waste of time as it cannot be fully eradicated; athletes should instead be educated in how to use pharmaceutical drugs to enhance their performances. Includes commercial break, with an advertisement for the town of Peterborough. Male reporter/presenter not identified.

Contributors

David Jenkins; Dan Duchaine; Juan Javier Macklis; Philip Halpern; Tony Fitton; David Hemery; Barry Williams; Mrs David Singh

Keywords

USA; Deaths; Sport; Sports competitions; Health; Drug traffic; Drugs; Drug abuse; Olympic games; Athletes; Mexico; Sportsmen; Peterborough; Medals; Anabolic steroids; Pat Dylan(?); National Steroid Task Force; Ben Johnson; Carl Lewis; Geoff Gutteridge; Tommy Simpson; Tour de France; David Singh(?)

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