Word: steroids
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...results were spectacular. Johnson, initially a scrawny sprinter, bulked up like a wrestler. In August 1987, he shattered the 100-meter world record with a stunning 9.83-sec. performance at the Rome track-and-field championships, a feat that Francis claims was aided by an extensive anabolic- steroid program. But John Holt, general secretary of the International Amateur Athletic Federation, has said there are no grounds for nullifying the seemingly tainted record, because Johnson tested negative for the drugs after that key race. The Jamaican-born sprinter, 27, had no such luck after his 9.79 sprint in Seoul...
What about the steroid rumors...
...former user. "It doesn't work that way." Bulging biceps and ham-hock thighs do a fast fade when the chemicals are halted. So do the feelings of being powerful and manly. Almost every user winds up back on the drugs. A self-image that relies on a steroid-soaked body may be difficult to change. Chamberlain has a friend, now 29, who has been taking steroids for more than a dozen years. Says Chamberlain: "His mind is so warped that he said he doesn't care if he dies, so long as he looks big in the coffin...
...these huge, abnormally muscled beings on cartoons and kids' programming," notes Chicago osteopath Bob Goldman. "Conan and Rambo are the heroes." So are sports stars, some of whom -- like Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson and Seattle Seahawk linebacker Brian Bosworth -- are known to have taken the steroid shortcut. Scrawny youngsters, some only 13, eagerly pay between $50 and $400 to black-market dealers for a six-to-13-week cycle of pills and injectables that could turn them into Hulk Hogans. "It takes years to build up a body like that," brags "Rick," 17, pointing to drug-clean weight lifters...
...drug-enhanced physiques are a hazardous bargain. Steroids can cause temporary acne and balding, upset hormonal production and damage the heart and kidneys. Doctors suspect they may contribute to liver cancer and atherosclerosis. Teens, who are already undergoing physical and psychological stresses, may run some enhanced risks. The drugs can stunt growth by accelerating bone maturation. Physicians also speculate that the chemicals may compromise youngsters' still developing reproductive systems. Steroid users have experienced a shrinking of the testicles and impotence. Dr. Richard Dominguez, a sports specialist in suburban Chicago, starts his lectures to youths with a surefire attention grabber...