The roots of track and field can be traced to a time before sports existed; its events can be traced to ancient Greece before 1000 BC. In addition, many of these historic events have been depicted in ancient Egyptian art. In 775 BC, the first Olympic game was held in Greece, this is considered the first official meet (Encarta). From that point on, societies around the world have used running as a way to test an individual’s talent, perseverance, and determination. When a man stepped onto the track, there was nothing to hide behind, it was all him.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances that are closely related to male sex hormones. These steroids aid in the growth of skeletal muscle tissues, and also the development of male sexual characteristics (Steroid info.com). Before growth substances such as anabolic steroids could be fully tested, people all around the globe became interested in its effects.

Athletes from Europe began using steroids when it was discovered that they could be used to help reach their goals. In the 1950s, weight lifters became particularly interested in using anabolic steroids when they discovered they could build more muscle by doing so. Many of these athletes went on to set new world records, and thus the age of steroids began (Steroid info.com). It wasn’t until the 1970s when testing of these drugs proved that they were potentially dangerous. Some of these dangers include liver failure, inability to stop the growth of cancer cells, high blood pressure, and increase risk of heart attack and stroke (Monroe). In addition to these dangers, athletes that use steroids to increase their performance do so by putting their competitors at an unfair advantage. Because of these reasons, the International Olympic Committee officially banned the use of performance enhancing drugs, including all forms of steroids in 1975. The International Olympic Committee’s ban on steroids began a new era in a war against performance enhancing drugs in sports. Within years, other athletic organizations including the IAAF, NCAA, and NFL also implemented bans on steroids because they are both unsafe, and unfair (Monroe).

Even though track and field athletes were prohibited from using steroids for years, many still used them because organizations governing Track and Field would often turn a blind eye to the issue. It wasn’t until even more medical research discovered that steroids presented more significant health risks than had previously been thought. Organizations such as the United States Track and Field Association were forced to implement testing and penalties for their athletes (Encarta). In 1988 Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson was disqualified and stripped from his Olympic medal for the 100-meter dash, and banned from further competition for two years after he tested positive for drugs in the summer Olympics (Encarta). Johnson was the first example of a track and field athlete that had a medal taken away because of steroid usage. Ben Johnson again tested positive for steroids in 1993 and was banned from the sport for life. The USATF’s response to Johnson’s continued steroid usage set the stage for tougher regulations banning, and preventing steroids in Track and Field. These actions sent a message to fans around the world, and athletes at high school and collegiate level, that the use of steroids is cheating, and not accepted.

Many athletes knew that taking steroids was wrong, but their desire for winning drove them to extremes. Even though the use of steroids is illegal in Track and Field, “there was a belief among athletes that if you were really, really good and tested positive, the authorities were not going to do anything to you,” said Allen Johnson, Captain of the United States men’s track team (Robins). It was this theory for years that made so many Track and Field athletes take steroids. If there was no perceived penalty for taking these drugs, there was no reason not to take them.

Recently, some of Track and Field biggest stars have been found to have used steroids, even in the Olympics. A conspiracy has unfolded between Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), and many high profile athletes. BALCO, and its founder Victor Conte has been “indicted by a federal grand jury for several offenses, including steroid distribution and money laundering” (San Francisco Chronicle). Conte is accused of secretly distributing illegal anabolic steroids to top athletes, including Track and Field stars.

Two such athletes are Marion Jones, and Tim Montgomery. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Victor Conte told federal investigators that Jones and Montgomery received performance enhancing substances in exchange for endorsements of his nutritional substances. Jones’ attorney, Joseph Burton; however, says the Chronicle story is wrong. In a statement to the Associated Press, Burton says: “Victor Conte is either lying or the statement is involuntarily coerced. This is a character assassination of the worst kind. Marion has never had an endorsement deal of any kind with Victor Conte or any of his businesses, and most specifically she has never received any illegal substances from Conte in exchange for her endorsement of his products” (AP).

In the 2000 summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Marion Jones won five medals for track events, three of them gold. Montgomery set the World Record in the 100 meter dash with a time of 9.78 seconds. Both Jones and Montgomery testified in front of a grand jury in the fall of 2003 and denied all accusations of alleged steroid use (AP). The New York Times quotes sources who report that a $7,350 check was made from Marion Jones to Victor Conte in 2000, just before the summer Olympic Games in Sydney. In a recent interview on ABC’s 20/20, Conte said “after I instructed her how to do it and dialed it up, she did the injection with me sitting right there next to her? right in front of me.” The steroids that both Jones and Montgomery have been accused of taking were at the time, “undetectable.” Prosecutors have identified that the steroid in question to be THD, which had been “unmasked” in the summer of 2003 by anti doping officials (Tanner).

There is no mistake about it; Track and Field athletes on all scales have been found to be taking steroids. They take these drugs for one reason alone, to be faster than their competition. In the past twenty years, the real race in this sport has been to find the best performing, and most undetectable steroid. Athletes have done whatever necessary to keep this a secret, whether it be by money, or endorsement deals. In the past few years following the 2000 summer Olympics, there has been wide spread knowledge that athletes take drugs to enhance their personal performance. This knowledge sends a message to young athletes that steroids are acceptable and safe. Since there are no national or state mandates to test high school athletes for steroids, the extent of steroid use in high school athletics is uncertain; however, it is clear that it is an increasing problem. With the recent outbreak of steroid scandals in professional athletics, there have been calls to establish guidelines in high school sports. In a recent meeting of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), the governing body of high school Track and Field and other school sports in the state of California, three proposals were brought up. The first proposal would require that all high school coaches be certified in an education program on steroids and performance enhancing substances. The second requires all student athletes and parents to sign “declarations” promising that athletes would not use steroids unless prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition. The most hotly contested proposal would ban schools and teams from selling, promoting, or distributing supplements marked as “muscle building.” One reason CIF executive director Marie Ishida gave for such attention to steroids is the “BALCO scandal,” “BALCO has put everything into the forefront...It's in your face now, something that has to be dealt with" (KTVU).

Not only does the use of steroids send the wrong message to younger athletes, it tarnishes the credibility of the sport itself. Track and Field has traditionally been a sport based on pure athleticism. Performance in a race has always been based on ability; in order to win, you had to be the best. Prior to this age of steroids and performance enhancing drugs, athletes won races by training the hardest, having the most determination on top of pure natural talent and ability.

Many people ask runners why they run. There is no simple answer to this, and not everyone runs for the same reasons. Some people run just to get a workout, others run to test their own limits, and see how fast they can go; these runners are Track and Field runners. A famous runner named Steve Prefontaine once said, “A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding” (stevepre.com). ‘Pre’ is the only American to hold every Track and Field record from 2,000 to 5,000 meters. He did so not because he was built like a runner, or because he grew up in a running family; he did so by training harder and longer, with a bigger passion, than any of his competitors. This was a time when athletes still considered steroids cheating. When Prefontaine and his competitors stepped onto the track, there was nothing separating them but raw talent; not even the first pair of Nike’s was an advantage for Steve. This is what Track and Field is really about.

For thousands of years, Track and Field had been drug free. Up until that point, there had been few accounts of scandals, cheating, and dishonesty in the sport; making it one of the most prestigious and respectable. Steroid cases have affected many sports, but none as hard as Track. In this sport, when credibility is lost, there is nothing left. Its athletes are held together by a string of trust, when this is broken, both between the athletes and fans, world records are put in jeopardy. The only way to restore the trust and respect that has been broken is for Track and Field to prove to the world that they will not allow its athletes to use drugs that unfairly enhance performance. Also, athletes must take a stand, and lead the sport out of this crisis. If these changes can be made, Track and Field will once again be the sport that it once was, free from scandal, free from speculation.