Anabolic Steroids were banned from Olympic competition just before the nineteen seventy six Olympics, but steroids were introduced to athletes years before the Montreal Olympics. In the nineteen eighty eight Seoul Olympics in Korea sprinter Ben Johnson and sprinter Carl Lewis were to run against each other in the one hundred meter dash. This was a much anticipated match up between the two. Ben Johnson was from Canada and Carl Lewis was from the United States. In the race J

The idea of sport is to gain an advantage against the opponent in order to defeat him in competition. For centuries athletes have tried to find ways to enhance their performance on the playing field. Steroids are no different than any other substance that has been tried throughout the centuries. In ancient time substances such as sesame seeds and mushrooms were used frequently to gain advantages. In today's sports world if a person uses new equipment to play a sport should that be classified as cheating as well because it is giving a player an advantage over another. In the medical world steroids are used with aids patients to gain back some of the weight they may have lost to infections. Doctors do not know for sure the long term damage that steroids may produce, therefore, many of the reasons that people stay away from steroids may be incorrect. There have been no long term studies done on steroids suggesting that they cause these side effects, meaning that the people who have taken steroids for their problems could have had conditions that were preexisting before the use of steroids.

ohnson won the Gold while Lewis brought home the silver. After the race Johnson had tested positive for anabolic steroid use. This event sent shock waves through the sports world. It brought up many questions about steroid use in competition. Johnson had to give back all the gold metals that he won during the Olympics, and in the one hundred meter dash the winner was Carl Lewis. He was Canada's national hero before this incident. This showed the world how athletes are willing to do anything to win. In the nineteen eighty eight Olympics Ben Johnson, a Canadian Olympic sprinter, was the first athlete caught testing positive for anabolic steroid use. During the Montreal Olympics Johnson won the Gold medal in the one-hundred meter dash and also broke the world record, which he had set. Since this time, performance enhancing drugs have been a hot topic for debate. Doctors, sports writers, and athletes have written numerous books, periodicals, and journals discussing their opinions on the controversial issue whether performance enhancing drugs should be legalized.

Although steroids may be harmful to the body, the gains that steroids give athletes are so great that the positives cancel out all the negatives. Steroids will increase muscle mass, strength, endurance, muscle definition, and leanness. These are some of the reasons that people take anabolic steroids and do not worry about the consequences. A reason that people have argued that steroids should be legal is that they are natural substances that our body produces. Steroids are not an unnatural substance, they are produced in the body all the time. Testosterone is the steroid hormone in the body that helps build up muscle, which men produce everyday. Not all steroids are harmful to the body. "One individual could use steroids and not develop a single problem, while another may develop complications from the same regimen"(Street). There are many different steroids on the market, if one affects you that does not mean it wil

Some topics in this essay:
Olympics Johnson, Olympic Committee, AIDS HIV, Greek Roman, Scientists Sociologists, Gold Lewis, Anabolic Steroids, Lewis Canada's, Carl Lewis, anabolic steroids, Canadian Olympic, argued steroids, steroids legal, steroids athletes, athletes steroids, steroids produce, unfair advantage, people steroids, using steroids, carl lewis, nineteen eighty eight, aids hiv patients, people argued steroids, debate steroids legal, using anabolic steroids,