Secrets of the Dead

Doping For Gold

In the 1970s, female East German athletes came out of nowhere to dominate international sport. But behind their success lay a secret, state-sponsored doping program that distributed untested steroids and male hormones to athletes as young as 12. Many of these girls had no knowledge that they were being doped, and now, as grown women (and men), their broken bodies and damaged psyches bear witness to the cruelty of a government that pursued international glory and gold at the expense of its most acclaimed citizens. "Doping for Gold" digs deep into the secretive Cold War world of East German athletes, examining what drugs were used, how they were distributed and what damage they did to many of the athletes who were forced to take them. The result creates a timely perspective on today's many doping scandals and reveals the truth behind the biggest and most horrifying state-sponsored doping program the world has ever known.