The announcement that 15-year-old Russian figure skating star Kamila Valieva had tested positive for a banned substance echoed another dark Olympic era. And it sent a chilling reminder that female athletes in certain sports have long been considered disposable in countries that support state-sponsored doping.
From the late 1960s until the late 1980s, East Germany, a country of fewer than 17 million people, kept pace in the Olympic medal chase with the United States and the Soviet Union with systematic doping known by the bland euphemism ¡°supporting means.¡±
The steroid Oral-Turinabol was often given to young female athletes without their knowledge or consent under the guise of ¡°vitamins.¡± Some have reported long-term health problems, believed to be linked to steroids, and birth defects like clubfoot in their children.
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