Doped East German athletes to receive compensation for health problems

Annette Tuffs Heidelberg

Athletes from former East Germany who were given performance enhancing drugs for many years and who consequently experienced longstanding health problems will receive payments of several thousand euros, the German federal parliament decided recently.

A special law has been passed which sets up a compensation fund of about a2m (£1.3m; $1.9m). The fund is meant to be supplemented by the sports industry and by national sports associations, but neither of these groups has been keen to join the initiative.

It is estimated that between 500 and 1000 men and women will apply for compensation by the end of the year and will receive about a3000 each. Currently, the association representing athletes who have had health problems as a result of doping has about 150 members.

Soon after the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, it became apparent that many East German athletes had had to pay a high prize for the overwhelming success of the nation in many disciplines. Continuous doping from a young age and for a very long time, mainly with anabolic drugs, ruined their health. Doping was often done without the athlete's consent or knowledge. East German trainers and doctors merely followed the socialist party's instructions.

The list of health problems is long: acne, hirsutism, deep voice, muscle tension, gynaecomasty, breast cancer, bone deformation, vascular disease, and teratogenic malformations. In some cases female athletes changed their sex as a result of the continuous intake of male hormones.

The association representing such athletes, as well as single athletes, is not satisfied with the new law, which will come into force in 2003.

The association complains that it took 13 years before their experiences were publicly recognised. The athletes accuse the National Olympic Club and the German Sports Association that they were quick to integrate the successful institutions and athletes from East Germany but did not care for the ones severely damaged by the system.

A one-off payment, they argue, is no real help to severely handicapped people, who need ongoing support with health costs and a small pension. The affected athletes will try to change the law by appealing to the German constitutional court.

Furthermore, specialists are demanding funds from the German government for a long term study to look into the long term effect of doping in athletes and their children. So far, no money has been made available.

Some of these stories first appeared in the BMJ. Visit bmj.com for additional news stories and much more



studentBMJ 2002;10:259-302 August ISSN 0966-6494