With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics approaching quickly, there are some aspects of sports that become more prominent, including the upsurge of steroid presence.  Athletes feel an unrelenting amount of pressure to earn a chance to represent their respective countries.

Each time the Olympics roll around there is an increase in the amount of the press coverage of the athletes using steroids.  For the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic games, the Olympic committee made a big step in the right direction: they banned Russia from the games for past drug violations.

According to an article published in the Washington Post by Will Hobson, “In the 2014 Winter Games in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia led the medal count, with 33 overall and 13 golds.  But Russia’s success at those Olympics, according to former Moscow antidoping lab director Grigory Rodchenkov, came with some assistance behind the scenes.”

The athletes in these huge professional sporting events are under supreme amounts of pressure that normal people would not understand.  However, I feel these pressures should not lead to cheating.

Many have this same opinion.  Steroids give the athletes a greater chance of winning because they could increase one’s muscle mass, strength, or even the ability to intake oxygen, making the athlete significantly better than themselves when not on steroids.  The athletes are given an unfair advantage when using a form of drugs.

In order to make the competition fair, there must be no use of steroids by any athlete to ensure that they are all on the same playing field.  This is what makes the top sporting events like the Olympics so intriguing. With large worldwide events approaching, the suspicions of foul play increase.  Every athlete is more prepared to be drug tested or caught during these times.

However, what many people don’t realize is that some high school and college athletes are going through similar pressures every day of their seasons.  They feel the pressure to perform and turn to performance-enhancing drugs.

According to the National Federation of State High School Association’s infographic by Jane Otterson of Confirm Biosciences, “3-12% of adolescent males and 1-2% adolescent females admit to using [anabolic steroids] at some time during their life.”

Even though there is not a significant percentage of children that admitted to it, there are still children using the drugs.  Student-athletes should not feel the amount of pressure that they determine that they must turn to drugs that make them better.

The presence of steroids in the news make it more well-known and accessible to young adults like high school students to get them.  Students are easily impacted by those they look up to.

“4/10 teens say their decision to take steroids was inspired by professional athletes who took them,” Otterson said.