... observers feel that most of the successful athletes to come out of Eastern Europe during the cold war were because they were using drugs. The best example of this was the East German team that went to the1976 Olympics in Montreal, Canada, the team were systematically given steroids without their knowledge or consent. Athletics has moved away from the old days of it being a pride and doing your best, like 'Jesse Owen' in the 1936 Olympics, it has now `become a case of winners take all, whether legitimate or not. There are so many drugs used nowadays, but I will only talk about a few and the importance they have had on the sport. EPO One of the commonly abused drugs by athletes is Erythropoietin, commonly known as EPO. EPO is an artificial hormone that allows the blood to carry more oxygen, thus boosting the athlete's endurance. EPO is much favoured ...

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