Canadian track star Ben Johnson flew past his competitors in the 100-meter run at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. But 72 hours later, the gold medal awarded for his record-breaking time of 9.79 seconds was rescinded after traces of the drug stanozolol were detected in his urine.

Stanozolol is one of several synthetic versions of the steroid hormone testosterone. Like testosterone, these drugs promote signs of masculinity (their androgenic effect) and increased synthesis of muscle proteins (their anabolic effect). Used in the past to treat a handful of medical conditions--anemia and breast cancer among them--steroids are used by professional and amateur athletes alike, all looking to build muscle tissue easily.

Steroid users may improve their performances and physiques in the short term, but in the long run they may suffer for it. Steroids hasten adulthood, stunting height and causing early baldness, and in males lead to breast development and in females to a deepened voice, hairiness, and a male physique. The kidney, liver, and heart may be damaged, and atherosclerosis may develop because steroids raise LDL and lower HDL--the opposite of a healthy cholesterol profile. In males, the body mistakes the synthetic steroids for the natural hormone and lowers its own production of testosterone. The price of athletic prowess today may be infertility later.

In 1976 the International Olympic Committee banned the use of steroids by athletes and required urine tests. The Anabolic Steroids Act of 1990 made possession with intent to distribute the drugs a federal offense in the United States.

Ben Johnson was caught in his tracks by a urine test able to detect part-per-billion traces of synthetic steroids even weeks after they are taken. Johnson at first claimed the stanozolol in his urine was the result of a drink spiked with an approved anti-inflammatory drug used on his ankle, but a test of his natural testosterone showed it to be only 15% of normal--a sure sign that this athlete had been taking steroids for a long time.

Unfortunately, athletes' use of drugs to pump up their muscles continues. At the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, athletes from Germany, the United States, China, Britain, and the former Soviet Union were turned away because of evidence they had used nonsteroid drugs that they thought would have steroidlike effects.

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