Duncan McKay
The discovery of 13 vials containing human growth hormone in the luggage of a Chinese swimmer as she passed through Perth customs on her way to the World Swimming Championships is another indication of extensive drug abuse in China.
The Chinese have been accused of taking drugs since their women won 13 out of 16 events at the World Championships in Rome in 1994. Suspicions again surfaced when Chinese women set two world records and recorded best times for 1997 in eight of the 13 individual events at the the Chinese national games — performances not seen since the days of East Germany.
But unlike the East Germans, who refused to allow their swimmers and athletes to leave the country until they were certain any banned drugs had left the body, the Chinese have not been so careful.
Twenty-three of their swimmers have tested positive for steroids in the past four years, which might have prompted the switch to human growth hormones (HGH).
HGH is known as the drug of champions. The drug’s popularity is due to the fact that it has the same benefits as steroids, such as increasing strength and lean body mass, without the major drawback — the danger of testing positive. That is because HGH is a naturally occurring substance in the body and no reliable test has been developed for it.
HGH was produced from human corpses 30 years ago to treat children with serious growth problems. When the drug first became popular with athletes they used the natural variety obtained during autopsies when doctors scraped the pituitary gland at the base of the brain. But it was banned in 1986 when children being treated with the drug died.
Now athletes use the cheaper synthetic version of the drug. Athletes administer the substance by injection to provide immense strength for short periods of time, allowing them to train harder and recover faster. The synthetic version is safer than the natural one, but there can still be side-effects including the broadening of bones and elongation of the jaw. Women can develop masculine facial hair and an Adam’s apple.
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