Jenson took compound drugs to compete in the road race, during which he collapsed and died. This incident shocked the international sports world and the International Olympic Committee established a mandatory dope test for all Olympic athletes in 1967.
             There are further examples of how taking performance enhancing drugs can ruin lives, such as that of Lyle Alzando. He took anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, which eventually resulted in his death and was quoted as saying, " it was addicting, mentally addicting. I just didn't feel strong unless I was taking them". However, even with these examples, athletes today still take drugs to improve their performance, which leads to the question of why?
             The reasons that athletes give for taking drugs vary. For many, it is that they want to be the best in the world in their chosen sport and will use whatever methods they can to achieve that goal. Evidence of this is given in a survey conducted on 100 top runners in America, which showed that 50% of them would take a certain drug knowing that, although it could make them Olympic champions, it could also kill them within a year.
             Top athletes are also under a lot of pressure to perform well at major events by the media, their families and their coaches. This pressure can cause them to cheat to win, especially if they are encouraged or even not discouraged from taking drugs by their coach or family.
             Material rewards such as money and medals can also be an incentive for some athletes to take drugs. There is also now a wide belief among athletes that drugs are widely used and so if they do not use them then they will be at a disadvantage. Unfortunately, this view has been widely adopted by not only athletes, such as Steve Holman, a 1500m runner, who believes he is now competing in a drug culture, but also by spectators. This view is very damaging to competitors as suspicion and rumour taint winners' successes but it ...