0:00:05 > 0:00:09Our sporting heroes are glamorous and rich,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12idolised by generations of fans.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17Their bodies are like highly-tuned machines whose every move
0:00:17 > 0:00:19is watched by millions.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22There's something about men and women competing at the highest level
0:00:22 > 0:00:27and doing things with their bodies that are almost superhuman.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31That, to me, is as compelling as the best drama.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34But whether you're a fan or not, you must have noticed that,
0:00:34 > 0:00:36with the Olympics coming up on August 5th,
0:00:36 > 0:00:41sports is once again hitting the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44Russian athletes won't be able to compete at this summer's Olympics.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47The former tennis world number one Maria Sharapova failed a drugs test.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51Lance Armstrong has been labelled a serial cheat.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53I've been investigating the controversial and dangerous
0:00:53 > 0:00:56world of sports doping.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59The hospital didn't think he would make it through the night when we took him in.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02You have no sex drive, impaired erectile function
0:01:02 > 0:01:05and, in about 10% of the cases, depression.
0:01:06 > 0:01:08I found that, for some elite athletes,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11doping is a gamble they think worth taking.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13I went straight to the front, where I belong.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16'I've discovered some of the extraordinary lengths
0:01:16 > 0:01:19'cheaters will go to to avoid detection...'
0:01:19 > 0:01:23This is one of the least glamorous things I have ever done -
0:01:23 > 0:01:26making fake urine in a hotel room.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30'..and that, as quickly as science can develop legitimate new medical treatments...'
0:01:30 > 0:01:32So he is really the Mr Universe of mice?
0:01:32 > 0:01:35'..they're hijacked by people who want to cheat.'
0:01:35 > 0:01:38I got an e-mail from a coach in Pennsylvania,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40- wanted me to inject his entire team. - Really?!
0:01:41 > 0:01:45But this culture of doping is no longer confined to elite sport.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51It's now filtering down to the general public.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54It's thought that hundreds of thousands of people in the UK
0:01:54 > 0:01:56are now using steroids.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01Some needle exchange programmes reporting over 600% increase
0:02:01 > 0:02:03in around ten years.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Many of these users are young men and women simply driven by
0:02:06 > 0:02:07the desire to look good.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12As a doctor, it really worries me that the substances
0:02:12 > 0:02:14people are taking are easily available online,
0:02:14 > 0:02:18you get them in the post, and they are completely unregulated.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22So I want to find out how common performance-enhancing drug use
0:02:22 > 0:02:26really is and what it's doing to the body.
0:02:35 > 0:02:36For top-class athletes,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40the potential rewards of success on the world stage are enormous -
0:02:40 > 0:02:45fame, money, glory and maybe a place in the history books.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48With that much at stake, it's not hard to imagine why someone
0:02:48 > 0:02:51might take risks to get an edge over the competition.
0:02:56 > 0:03:00'My investigation into the murky world of performance-enhancing drugs
0:03:00 > 0:03:02'will take me inside one of the world's leading
0:03:02 > 0:03:05'drug-testing laboratories...'
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Black-market suppliers may be the same people who are selling
0:03:08 > 0:03:11hard drugs like cocaine and heroin.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15'..I'll discover if there is a way to legitimately boost your performance in sport...'
0:03:15 > 0:03:17You've been electrically doping.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20You've just been a baby and not tried!
0:03:20 > 0:03:22'..and I'll encounter some of the most shocking material
0:03:22 > 0:03:25- 'I've ever seen online.' - Ten units, mix it.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28I'm going to put this right in the side of my leg, guys.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32It is a little bit like science 200 years ago - scientists
0:03:32 > 0:03:33experimenting on themselves.
0:03:35 > 0:03:39But, before I do, I'm going to meet one of my sporting heroes.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43'Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the working week.
0:03:43 > 0:03:45'We'll make it the best it can be...'
0:03:45 > 0:03:48I'm on my way to meet a man called Tim Montgomery.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51And, at one point, Tim was the fastest man in the world.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55He ran the 100 metres in 2002 in 9.78.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'Good start from Chambers but he's headed by Montgomery.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01'Montgomery's got half a metre. And Montgomery wins it!
0:04:01 > 0:04:04'9.78 - a world record!'
0:04:04 > 0:04:07Now, he's subsequently been stripped of that record because
0:04:07 > 0:04:08he was caught cheating.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12But I guess I just think of him still as one of the fastest
0:04:12 > 0:04:14people in the world.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Tim retired from competition after he was banned from doping
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and he now trains athletes in Gainesville, Florida.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28- It's Tim, right?- Yes.- How are you doing?- Just fine.- It is very good
0:04:28 > 0:04:30- to meet you. - Very good to meet you also.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32'Today, he's not working with an athlete.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35'He's going to be putting me through my paces.'
0:04:35 > 0:04:40You know, I've not got really any world records in any athletic events
0:04:40 > 0:04:44so... What are you going to do with me this morning?
0:04:44 > 0:04:46Since I know you're a doctor, you're brainy,
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- I'm going to work with your mind. - OK, OK. That's good, that's good.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50- I like that.- And your body just a little bit.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53Ooh! Ah!
0:04:53 > 0:04:55- You just do this for nine seconds. - Argh!
0:04:55 > 0:04:58- But the process is very painful. - Argh!
0:04:58 > 0:05:00'So much for working with my mind.'
0:05:00 > 0:05:02- Ooh!- Bring it up off the ground here.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04- Ooh! Ooh!- Oh, yeah!
0:05:04 > 0:05:07'It becomes very quickly apparent that there's more to running
0:05:07 > 0:05:12- 'fast than meets the eye.'- Now go forward to here. Without coming up.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Just go straight through it.
0:05:14 > 0:05:19- There you go! There we go!- Oh! - See? Yes!
0:05:19 > 0:05:23- Yes!- 'While I'm finding this a bit of a challenge...'- Uh-uh.- Oh.
0:05:23 > 0:05:25- There you go.- Like this? - Keep your arms back.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28'..Tim's flair for running shone through from an early age.'
0:05:28 > 0:05:31Going slow, not fast. There you go, there you go.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33There we go. Good.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37What's the kind of first thing you remember, going, "I run fast"?
0:05:37 > 0:05:42- Well, my dad making me race my sister for ice cream.- Really?- Yes.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Did you always get the ice cream?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47She beat me one time and then I went and started training.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50So did you not get the ice cream that time?
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I didn't get the ice cream that time and that made me start
0:05:53 > 0:05:57running around the house, running up the hill, just doing crazy training.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01- But, right there, my desire to win began young.- Mm-hm.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03There you go.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- Well, that's really... Really feel that burning.- Yes.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09'This drive, combined with bags of natural talent, meant he rose
0:06:09 > 0:06:13'quickly through the ranks to become one of the top junior sprinters.'
0:06:13 > 0:06:15Lock it inside the heels.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17I end up breaking the World Junior Record at 19 years old when
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- I'm in college.- At that point, what are you imagining?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Are you then imagining a career as a professional athlete?
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Soon as I cross the finish line as a World Junior Record,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31- my mind was like dollar signs! - Really?- Where the cheque at?!- Ha!
0:06:31 > 0:06:35- Where the cheque?- 9.96. Are you the first junior to run under ten?
0:06:35 > 0:06:38- Under ten.- Wow. - And they come back to me and say, the track is three centimetres
0:06:38 > 0:06:41- shorter, so we're going to take that away from you.- Oh!
0:06:41 > 0:06:45Right then, I start rebelling against authority for track
0:06:45 > 0:06:47and field. So I told myself, you know what?
0:06:47 > 0:06:51You take this away from me, I'ma get something that you can't take away from me and get that world record.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- Now my mind's on the world record. - So that was when you immediately...
0:06:54 > 0:06:57Immediately that record went, you wanted to be the fastest man in history?
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- Man in the world. Period. Didn't care what it took.- OK.
0:07:01 > 0:07:03'After a morning of training,
0:07:03 > 0:07:05'I get my chance to try and beat Tim on the track...'
0:07:11 > 0:07:14'..something his competition also found hard to do.'
0:07:17 > 0:07:19'The US track star won his first Olympic medal,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22'a silver in Atlanta, aged just 21.'
0:07:25 > 0:07:27So you ran clean for a long time?
0:07:27 > 0:07:30You were winning races, breaking records,
0:07:30 > 0:07:32and then you started taking drugs. So what changed?
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- Why did you do that? - It wasn't enough.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I was still losing on occasions.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42I just didn't feel like I was going to be able to beat the guys
0:07:42 > 0:07:43naturally.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46When I started reading about PDs and steroids and everything,
0:07:46 > 0:07:51it was just like, this is going to make you a superhero.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And, when I found out that that was going to be the way for me to
0:07:54 > 0:07:59get ahead, I might have swallowed once but I didn't swallow twice.
0:07:59 > 0:08:00I went right for it.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05And, when I done it, I went straight to the front, where I belong.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08That is very interesting to me - the idea that drugs got you to
0:08:08 > 0:08:11your full potential, where you should be.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15I got to say, steroids did get me to my full potential.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19'Tim was taking a complicated cocktail of substances.'
0:08:19 > 0:08:21I was taking...
0:08:21 > 0:08:23I took testosterone before, I took EPO before,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26I took insulin before, I took human growth hormone before.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31So, over time, you start to see a change. You start to feel a change.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And now you know it's starting to work.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37And now you start to ask for more and more and more.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41And which ones do you think worked? Did they all help?
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I don't know cos I was taking all of them!
0:08:43 > 0:08:45You were taking them all at once?
0:08:45 > 0:08:49You've got this, like, sort of suitcase full of illegal drugs.
0:08:49 > 0:08:50Does that ever feel strange?
0:08:50 > 0:08:53Do you ever open up that bag and go, what am I doing? This is strange?
0:08:53 > 0:08:56Oh, no, because I was taking probably 25 pills to 30 pills a day.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- Really? Vitamins and all this other stuff as well?- Yes.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02So that all just looks like what it is to be an athlete, right?
0:09:02 > 0:09:05You've got different shoes, you eat differently,
0:09:05 > 0:09:07your life is so different to a normal human being that
0:09:07 > 0:09:09- the drugs are just part of that? - Right.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'But while Tim was seeing results on the track,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15'drugs were affecting his body in negative ways, too.'
0:09:16 > 0:09:22- What about side effects? - You never think about it.- Really?
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Now, I'm going through it, you know.
0:09:24 > 0:09:27There's just so many things that I used to do
0:09:27 > 0:09:29that I cannot do any more.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Your body is not working as well as it used to because of the drugs?
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Right. And that's just part of the side effects that you don't
0:09:36 > 0:09:39realise that's going to happen to you later on.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43'Tim's world record was wiped from the record books because
0:09:43 > 0:09:46'he admitted taking banned substances.'
0:09:47 > 0:09:49In fact, five of the eight runners in that final
0:09:49 > 0:09:51were eventually caught doping
0:09:51 > 0:09:53or became involved in a doping scandal.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58A lot of people would say, well, you took drugs.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00But I don't think you see it that way, do you?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02I don't because I'm for real.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05I still call myself the world record-holder.
0:10:06 > 0:10:12Because it's a very slim margin of athletes in the 100 metres
0:10:12 > 0:10:19that's not using drugs. And that's why sprinters don't bad-mouth me.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24They understand the trenches of the 100 metres.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31It was amazing to be able to meet one of my sporting heroes and
0:10:31 > 0:10:34really extraordinary to hear him being so honest about how
0:10:34 > 0:10:37he was seduced by performance-enhancing drugs.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43But he's certainly not the only athlete to have ever taken them.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49'My twin brother, Chris, has some strong feelings about how
0:10:49 > 0:10:52'many are doping in the pursuit of fame and glory.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:57Having Canadian parents, we both remember Ben Johnson winning
0:10:57 > 0:10:59the 100 metres gold at the Seoul Olympics...
0:11:00 > 0:11:03'That's the go first time. And Ben Johnson's got a brilliant start.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06'It's Johnson away in clear. Lewis is not going to catch him.
0:11:06 > 0:11:11'Johnson wins it! Lewis second. Christie third.'
0:11:11 > 0:11:12..and the shock, two days later,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15when he was stripped of his medal for doping.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20I do remember being very proud that a Canadian had won an Olympic
0:11:20 > 0:11:23gold medal in this sprinting, and then the shame.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Yeah, I remember that.
0:11:25 > 0:11:26Ever since then,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I have fundamentally believed that
0:11:29 > 0:11:34it is near universal at the top level of sport.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35No!
0:11:35 > 0:11:38No! What do you mean? In sprinting?
0:11:39 > 0:11:41I mean, in sprinting and cycling,
0:11:41 > 0:11:44I think there are a lot of people taking drugs.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46Why wouldn't everyone else take drugs too?
0:11:46 > 0:11:51Why isn't it also in football, in rugby, in tennis?
0:11:51 > 0:11:54I find listening to what you're saying extremely uncomfortable
0:11:54 > 0:11:56because these people are my heroes!
0:11:56 > 0:12:00I much prefer the idea that the guys in the gym,
0:12:00 > 0:12:01who look better than me,
0:12:01 > 0:12:06have just worked a bit harder and the people I'm watching on telly win
0:12:06 > 0:12:09the races have done it cos they're talented and they train hard.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13'I'm still not convinced that everyone is doping
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'but, while Chris' views might seem a bit extreme,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20'they do make me want to dig deeper into this controversial subject.'
0:12:23 > 0:12:26So what exactly are performance-enhancing drugs?
0:12:29 > 0:12:32More than 300 different substances have been banned by Wada -
0:12:32 > 0:12:34the World Anti-Doping Agency.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39They range from relatively benign health store products,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42like diuretics, to prescription medications, like these,
0:12:42 > 0:12:45and even illegal drugs, like cocaine.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48And the thing they all have in common is that they've been judged
0:12:48 > 0:12:52to give athletes an unfair advantage in either training or competition.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02Wada statistics show that in 2014
0:13:02 > 0:13:03half of the top ten
0:13:03 > 0:13:05banned substances found in athletes
0:13:05 > 0:13:07were anabolic steroids,
0:13:07 > 0:13:10synthetic testosterone taken to build and repair muscles.
0:13:12 > 0:13:16Also high on the list were diuretics, drugs that can be
0:13:16 > 0:13:20used to clear banned substances from your system to avoid detection.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26People even take drugs originally only intended for animal use,
0:13:26 > 0:13:28veterinary medicines.
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Every year, the list of banned substances gets longer,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34as does the list of athletes caught taking them.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40The World Anti-Doping Agency think as many as one in ten athletes
0:13:40 > 0:13:43could be using performance-enhancing drugs.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49But some think the real figure could be even higher.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Whatever the true number, it's clear once you start digging around
0:13:53 > 0:13:56in this murky world, the statistics can be surprising.
0:13:58 > 0:14:0139 British rugby and rugby league players
0:14:01 > 0:14:03are currently banned for doping.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05More than 50 American football stars
0:14:05 > 0:14:09were suspended for substance violations last year,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12and nine of the last 20 winners of the Tour De France
0:14:12 > 0:14:14have been stripped of their titles.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23But it's not just elite athletes who take performance-enhancing drugs.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26Just as training techniques and specialist equipment filter down
0:14:26 > 0:14:29from the top, so too does doping behaviour.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39These kinds of drugs are now being used at all levels of sport...
0:14:42 > 0:14:45..as amateurs try to move up through the rankings,
0:14:45 > 0:14:46tempted by the short cut.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51But the fastest-growing group of users are people taking them
0:14:51 > 0:14:54simply because they think it can help them look good.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00And the most common substances they are taking are
0:15:00 > 0:15:02muscle-building anabolic steroids.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09'I'm meeting Gary and Natalie Whittaker.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14'From the age of 20, Gary competed as a bodybuilder,
0:15:14 > 0:15:17'using steroids to help make him bigger.'
0:15:17 > 0:15:22We've got photos here of you. This is you at your absolute peak, right?
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- Yeah.- Did you feel healthy when you were doing that?- Yeah, fine. Yeah.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29And what does it feel like to be that guy?
0:15:29 > 0:15:33A fantastic feeling. Just want to be big, just want to be strong.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Respected. Powerful. Invincible.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39Did it ever seem bad to you to be taking the steroids?
0:15:39 > 0:15:40Were you ever worried about it?
0:15:40 > 0:15:43No, not at all. It was second nature, really.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45Yeah. It was natural, injecting steroids two, three times a day.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48Were you getting them on the internet or buying them in the gym?
0:15:48 > 0:15:52You can actually get them on the internet, but, yeah, buy them from anyone down the gym.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55Just see a big guy, ask him what he's taking, how he's taking them,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59who's he get them off, and get a price list just like that. No problem.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Then before you knew it, you was on all the time, constantly.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Cos if you had a week or two off, you'd lose size, lose strength.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08Your joints would ache, your body would ache. You wouldn't feel good
0:16:08 > 0:16:11that you couldn't come off them, that's eventually why I stayed on
0:16:11 > 0:16:13for like 14, 15 years straight,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16cos I felt as though I couldn't come off them.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Gary's now stopped taking them for health reasons,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21but his story is becoming increasingly common.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32It's Saturday morning at a typical gym in north-west London.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41And lots of people here are doing their weekly workout.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Come on, Kamil! Come on!
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Press! Press!
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Stop, stop. Hold it.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51- Yeah! Hey! - LAUGHTER
0:16:53 > 0:16:56'While a gym like this is perhaps not my natural environment...'
0:16:56 > 0:17:00- Do you think I can get it off the ground?- Definitely.- One way to find out.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03'..the guys are quick to include me in their strongman training.'
0:17:03 > 0:17:06- Let's go!- OK.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Do I get the full...?
0:17:08 > 0:17:10You're not going to slap me or anything?
0:17:10 > 0:17:11'Though for my first-ever log lift,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14'they've kindly taken the weights off.'
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Come on. Up. That's it.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18HE STRAINS No, no.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22I think I got it like that much. Oh!
0:17:23 > 0:17:25So, why do you do this, Kamil?
0:17:25 > 0:17:30I like it. I come first time, I want to look nice for my wife.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33- What does your wife think now? - Now she's saying I'm too big.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35LAUGHTER
0:17:35 > 0:17:38You guys are in that world of like...
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Strongman is what you are doing, right?
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Is there a lot of performance- enhancing drugs in strongman?
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Yes, there is. I mean, in the gym setting, yes, there is.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Is it possible to do this without taking steroids?
0:17:50 > 0:17:53- Yeah.- We are doing it without taking steroids.- We don't take nothing.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Do you see people taking drugs in this gym?
0:17:56 > 0:17:59- Yeah, there are quite a few, yeah.- Yeah?
0:17:59 > 0:18:02When you come in the gym, you see, I don't know, 40kg guy,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05and after one month you see 80kg, the same guy,
0:18:05 > 0:18:07so what do you think - he's taking or not taking?
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Not possible.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15'I've invited sports scientist Dr Pete Angell to the gym to tell me more.'
0:18:17 > 0:18:21'He did research on the effects of anabolic steroids on the heart.'
0:18:22 > 0:18:26What do we actually know about the scale of the problem in the UK?
0:18:26 > 0:18:29Well, that's a difficult area because no-one really wants
0:18:29 > 0:18:35to admit to doing it. Recent data has suggested around 60,000 users.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40- But most people assume this is a gross underestimation.- Really?
0:18:40 > 0:18:44And anywhere up into the hundreds of thousands are actually
0:18:44 > 0:18:47using on a regular basis.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50'It's one thing to take a substance hoping that it might help you
0:18:50 > 0:18:54'beat a world record, but Pete's research is shining a light into
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'what's driving the use of steroids among the general public.'
0:18:57 > 0:19:00We've got some people that are doing it for their jobs,
0:19:00 > 0:19:03whether they're security or even in some forces,
0:19:03 > 0:19:05or in the emergency services.
0:19:05 > 0:19:09And we've got some people that are just recreational, they just want to look better.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It's a performance and image-enhancing drug as well.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15This is kind of going through all walks of life now.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18'But by experimenting with steroids to try and change the way they look,
0:19:18 > 0:19:21'people are putting their health at risk.'
0:19:21 > 0:19:25What do we know about, if you like, the side effects of these drugs on the body?
0:19:25 > 0:19:29Things like gynaecomastia, growth of breast tissue.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Testicular atrophy.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34Male pattern baldness. Acne.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35Those kind of things.
0:19:35 > 0:19:39'Despite this, the rate of steroid use appears to be going up.'
0:19:39 > 0:19:42We're getting an increasing amount of information from
0:19:42 > 0:19:45needle exchange programmes which are really on the increase.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Over 600% increase in around ten years.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53You know, we have needle banks because of HIV and hepatitis,
0:19:53 > 0:19:54viruses like that.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58Do we see the same problems in IV steroid users?
0:19:58 > 0:20:01Well, we're actually seeing an increase in infections.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05You used to hear anecdotal stories of some gyms where they would have jabbing rooms.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08You even heard stories of people lining up and the guy
0:20:08 > 0:20:12walking along with one needle and just jabbing.
0:20:12 > 0:20:16And obviously that creates a whole plethora of health-related issues.
0:20:18 > 0:20:22As a doctor, I've seen the devastating effects of diseases
0:20:22 > 0:20:24spread through shared needle use,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28and I find it mind-boggling that people are still willing to take the risk.
0:20:30 > 0:20:33But even if you're not sharing needles, anabolic steroids
0:20:33 > 0:20:37are chemicals that can affect every single part of your body.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42Amateur bodybuilder Gary Whittaker used them constantly for 15 years.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47And that had devastating consequences.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51I got a sign my kidney was starting to fail when I filled up with water.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Didn't feel well, my vision was going.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57I went to hospital, and got told my kidneys were starting to fail,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02if I carry on taking the steroids I would be on dialysis.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05So I gradually cut them down, and then when I met Natalie,
0:21:05 > 0:21:07I said to her, "I have a problem with my kidneys,
0:21:07 > 0:21:10"I might have to be on dialysis one day,"
0:21:10 > 0:21:15thinking I'd be about mid-50s, early 60s, but no, it came earlier than that.
0:21:15 > 0:21:20Late 30s my kidneys started to fail. Didn't feel very well.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Rushed into hospital and got told that I needed to go on dialysis
0:21:24 > 0:21:26straightaway cos both my kidneys had failed.
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- I had no function on any of them whatsoever.- Wow.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32So that's when I knew totally that they were totally gone, totally failed.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36- How ill were you at that point? - Very ill.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Throwing up black.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Drinking a pint of water and throwing the whole lot up
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- straightaway and it was coming out black.- Wow.- No energy.
0:21:44 > 0:21:51Hospital didn't think he'd make it through the night when we took him in. He was in such a bad way.
0:21:51 > 0:21:53They put him on dialysis straightaway.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57'In an extraordinary act of love,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00'Natalie gave up one of her kidneys in a transplant that saved
0:22:00 > 0:22:04'Gary's life, and they now have two children together.'
0:22:04 > 0:22:08If your kids, when they were older, wanted to get into bodybuilding,
0:22:08 > 0:22:12- would you tell them not to take steroids?- 100%, yeah. No way.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14- What about you, Gary? - Yeah, 100%. Yeah.- Really?
0:22:14 > 0:22:18- I want my son to train, but not take any drugs at all.- Really?- No.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24'Strangely, I found Gary very relatable.'
0:22:24 > 0:22:27We all balance benefits and harms all the time doing all kinds of
0:22:27 > 0:22:30fun or interesting or exciting things.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32And his story was kind of no different.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36And there are people who will say, "Well, he only got into that much trouble because he took too much,"
0:22:36 > 0:22:38but that definitely isn't true.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41These are dangerous drugs, and what we're finding out now is that the
0:22:41 > 0:22:44kind of health problems Gary had are just the tip of the iceberg.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56Science is only just discovering what the long-term effects of
0:22:56 > 0:22:58steroids on the human body really are.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03They first became popular in the general population in the 1980s.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09And those who started taking them then are now reaching middle age -
0:23:09 > 0:23:12the age when health issues start to show up.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23At the forefront of this research is Harvard professor of psychiatry Harrison Pope.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27He is a lifelong fan of all kinds of sports,
0:23:27 > 0:23:31and has been researching steroid use in athletes since the 1980s.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Of all the different drug subcultures I have studied in my career,
0:23:37 > 0:23:40steroids are the most secret.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42I have countless people come into my office and talk about
0:23:42 > 0:23:44all the marijuana they smoked
0:23:44 > 0:23:45or all the cocaine they snorted,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48but I will someone who clearly is a steroid user when I watch them
0:23:48 > 0:23:51coming through the door, who will then deny to my face
0:23:51 > 0:23:53that he has ever used these drugs.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59His work has shown that steroids are addictive in around 30% of users.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03When they stop taking their steroids,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06their own testosterone level has fallen virtually to zero because
0:24:06 > 0:24:11steroids have shut down the body's own manufacture of testosterone.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14You have no sex drive, impaired erectile function,
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and in about 10% of the cases, depression.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21And so there is a huge temptation to resume taking the steroids
0:24:21 > 0:24:23to make the bad feeling go away.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27So there's a self-perpetuating quality here that is hard to break.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31As well as having profound psychological effects,
0:24:31 > 0:24:34steroids may also be chemically addictive.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40If you take male hamsters and you put them in a cage where they
0:24:40 > 0:24:43can self-administer by poking their noses against a lever,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47male hamsters will self-administer testosterone to the point of death.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52If you give the male hamsters a drug that blocks the effects
0:24:52 > 0:24:55of morphine or other opiates,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59it will stop the testosterone addiction, suggesting that
0:24:59 > 0:25:02whatever steroids are doing, they are tickling the same
0:25:02 > 0:25:05receptors somewhere in the brain as opioids do.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09Whether you are addicted or not, evidence is now growing that
0:25:09 > 0:25:12anabolic steroids have long-term impacts on the brain.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19It's been found in the laboratory that if you expose brain cells
0:25:19 > 0:25:23to very high levels of testosterone or other steroids,
0:25:23 > 0:25:25the cells die prematurely.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28They go through their cycle and commit suicide too early.
0:25:28 > 0:25:33'All of these boxes will open up one by one to reveal some patterns.'
0:25:33 > 0:25:38To see what effect this might have in the real world, and in the first
0:25:38 > 0:25:42test of its kind, in 2012 Professor Pope used a range of cognition tests
0:25:42 > 0:25:46to assess the memories of two sets of bodybuilders.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49'Now touch the box where you saw this pattern.'
0:25:49 > 0:25:52One group were long-term steroid users, and the other group were not.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55'You have completed the level.'
0:25:55 > 0:25:59There were striking differences between the steroid users
0:25:59 > 0:26:00and the non-users.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04What we found was that the degree of impairment on
0:26:04 > 0:26:08the visual spatial memory tests was strongly correlated with
0:26:08 > 0:26:12the total number of years of lifetime exposure to steroids.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15In other words, the longer that you have been taking your steroids,
0:26:15 > 0:26:19the worse you did on these visual spatial tests.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24Former steroid users did just as badly on the tests as current users,
0:26:24 > 0:26:28suggesting that once the brain damage has occurred, it's irreversible.
0:26:30 > 0:26:34If it is true that steroids really do accelerate cell death in
0:26:34 > 0:26:36neuronal cells, it would be very worrying,
0:26:36 > 0:26:41because this would mean that men who take steroids over long periods of time
0:26:41 > 0:26:45might be at greater risk for developing a dementia at a younger age.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51And now there's growing evidence that brain damage isn't
0:26:51 > 0:26:56the only long-term side effect steroid users have to worry about.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59Of all the long-term effects of steroids, it is the effects on
0:26:59 > 0:27:01the heart that scare me the most.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05The heart is a muscle. Steroids affect muscles.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08The heart in fact is the strongest muscle in the body,
0:27:08 > 0:27:11and it's the only muscle that never rests.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16So it is not surprising that we are finding increasing evidence
0:27:16 > 0:27:18of these long-term cardiac effects.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Professor Pope used an echocardiogram to look at whether
0:27:25 > 0:27:28steroid use had any effect on the way the heart functions.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32This is an image of a heartbeat,
0:27:32 > 0:27:37and in the upper panel we have a non-steroid user and you can see
0:27:37 > 0:27:41that all the tracings are pretty much superimposed
0:27:41 > 0:27:45on one another, so that all aspects of the heart muscle are beating
0:27:45 > 0:27:49coherently, in a nice, firm, powerful beat.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52By comparison, on the lower panel we have
0:27:52 > 0:27:55a weightlifter of the same age, same degree of weightlifting experience,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58but who has used steroids for many years.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01We see that the steroid user has a much less coherent beat,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05and the force of the beat is weaker than it is for the non-steroid user.
0:28:06 > 0:28:08This reduction in function
0:28:08 > 0:28:11directly affects how much blood the heart can pump.
0:28:11 > 0:28:17In a normal individual you would expect the percentage of the blood
0:28:17 > 0:28:20in the ventricle that gets expelled with the beat
0:28:20 > 0:28:24should be at least 55% of the blood in the ventricle,
0:28:24 > 0:28:27and in the normal weightlifters, virtually all of them
0:28:27 > 0:28:31are 55% or above, whereas in the steroid users we had
0:28:31 > 0:28:34quite a number of people who were as low as 40,
0:28:34 > 0:28:37and some even going down into the 30s, which is a profound
0:28:37 > 0:28:42deficiency to see in an otherwise healthy man in his 30s or 40s.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46There is good scientific agreement around the scientific community
0:28:46 > 0:28:50that this is clearly associated with anabolic steroid use.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56For Harrison, all this evidence tells a cautionary tale.
0:28:57 > 0:29:02It is very hard to know just how big this public health problem is going to be.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07But there have been several million men in the United States alone
0:29:07 > 0:29:12who have tried anabolic steroids, and tens of millions worldwide,
0:29:12 > 0:29:16most of whom have not yet reached the age of risk for developing the
0:29:16 > 0:29:21long-term cardiac complications and neurological complications as well.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25Now, imagine by analogy that widespread cigarette smoking
0:29:25 > 0:29:28did not exist prior to 1980, and that the vast majority of
0:29:28 > 0:29:32cigarette smokers were still under the age of 50 now.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36In that scenario, there would be the occasional case of lung cancer,
0:29:36 > 0:29:38the occasional report of emphysema,
0:29:38 > 0:29:42but we would have no idea of the full magnitude of what was about to hit us.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45And what worries me is that
0:29:45 > 0:29:48there may be an analogous situation with steroids,
0:29:48 > 0:29:52that we will start seeing a lot more pathology as this wave of
0:29:52 > 0:29:54users begins to move into older age.
0:30:03 > 0:30:07As we understand more about the long-term effects of steroids,
0:30:07 > 0:30:10the consequences to our health are becoming increasingly scary.
0:30:11 > 0:30:13It makes me even more shocked
0:30:13 > 0:30:16that people would experiment with these drugs just to look good.
0:30:18 > 0:30:23And now there are new substances available that may be even more dangerous.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29Anabolic steroids are still the most popular kind of drug
0:30:29 > 0:30:32for people looking to build muscle in the general population,
0:30:32 > 0:30:33amateur athletes.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38But there are people who think that those are now outdated and old-fashioned.
0:30:38 > 0:30:42When Arnold Schwarzenegger was taking steroids, he was taking drugs
0:30:42 > 0:30:46that were approved for medical use to treat real illnesses.
0:30:46 > 0:30:50But these new molecules have never been approved for human use.
0:30:50 > 0:30:52They have not gone through clinical trials.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55And yet their use does not exist in the shadows.
0:30:55 > 0:30:58You can watch videos on the internet of people taking them.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01So, this is the real thing, guys.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05I've got IGF-1 LR3 in there, it's 50mcgs,
0:31:05 > 0:31:09and I'm also shooting HGH Frag, 500mcgs, post workout.
0:31:09 > 0:31:12And I'm going to do that right here, guys. They are legal.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15While they are banned in competitive sport, these drugs are so new
0:31:15 > 0:31:19they are completely unregulated, meaning anyone can buy them.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21I'm running a more pharmaceutical grade GH...
0:31:21 > 0:31:26He's selling, or at least advocating the use of, drugs that have
0:31:26 > 0:31:29not been proven to be safe in humans,
0:31:29 > 0:31:33that have very profound effects on people's bodies.
0:31:33 > 0:31:35And to do what? To get bigger muscles.
0:31:35 > 0:31:39I got my syringes up here. I label them. That is IGF LR3
0:31:39 > 0:31:41I just put LR3. Ten units, mix it.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44I'm going to put this right in the side of my leg, guys.
0:31:47 > 0:31:48Easy peasy.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52It is a little bit like science 200 years ago,
0:31:52 > 0:31:55of scientists experimenting on themselves.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57It's not a big statistical trial,
0:31:57 > 0:32:01it's just a community of people trying a thing.
0:32:01 > 0:32:06MK-2886 is now able
0:32:06 > 0:32:13to activate these androgen receptors.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17This guy is talking about selective androgen receptor modulators.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20They did not exist when I began medical school,
0:32:20 > 0:32:22which wasn't that long ago.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25But they haven't gone through a clinical trial. We don't use these.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28No doctor in the world will prescribe these.
0:32:28 > 0:32:33Let me just give you my personal experience. I am a guinea pig.
0:32:33 > 0:32:36I must say, it's not been approved for human use.
0:32:36 > 0:32:37Putting that out there.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40If you know where to get some of these SARMs...
0:32:40 > 0:32:41you can get them.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48It is amazing how seductive it is.
0:32:48 > 0:32:49I don't want to look like him,
0:32:49 > 0:32:54but I would like to look like a movie star.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57The standard that I hold myself to now comes from television
0:32:57 > 0:33:01and movies and magazines in a way that I think was different to
0:33:01 > 0:33:04even 15 or 20 years ago.
0:33:04 > 0:33:06I'm embarrassed that I don't have a six-pack,
0:33:06 > 0:33:08that I've got the dad bod,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11that I've got a tummy, my man boobs.
0:33:11 > 0:33:14And on bad days when I feel like it's been very hard to work out,
0:33:14 > 0:33:16very hard to eat right,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20the idea that I could take an injection and make it all
0:33:20 > 0:33:23a bit easier seems pretty appealing.
0:33:23 > 0:33:26Just put that back. HGH Fragment.
0:33:26 > 0:33:28I'm going to put this and take this,
0:33:28 > 0:33:30I'm going to shoot this subcutaneous.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34I'm going to shoot that right there. Go in here. Boom.
0:33:34 > 0:33:36I can't believe I'm even wrestling with it, really.
0:33:36 > 0:33:39It's... You know, I think because I, like everyone else, would like
0:33:39 > 0:33:42to look a bit better and would like a magic injection to do it,
0:33:42 > 0:33:43but this is not the way.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46These are dangerous drugs. No-one should do this.
0:33:46 > 0:33:47A lot of people want to know,
0:33:47 > 0:33:49"How much side effects do you get from steroids?
0:33:49 > 0:33:51"You're on all these dosages, how do you feel?"
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Guys, I feel perfectly fine.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57Ultimately I think anyone making videos about this on the internet
0:33:57 > 0:34:00is exploiting a group of vulnerable and poorly informed people
0:34:00 > 0:34:04who are not taking these drugs for what I would say
0:34:04 > 0:34:07are important reasons like serious medical issues.
0:34:12 > 0:34:16At the heart of the doping story is an arms race.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20On one side, drug manufacturers and athletes who are constantly
0:34:20 > 0:34:23looking for new ways to get around the law.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33On the other, scientists whose job it is to safeguard our health.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40Professor David Cowan runs the UK's drug control centre at
0:34:40 > 0:34:45King's College London, one of the world's leading sports doping laboratories.
0:34:48 > 0:34:50It's here that athletes' samples are tested,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53here that careers can be potentially destroyed.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56One of David's main concerns is that users have
0:34:56 > 0:35:01no way of knowing where their drugs come from or what is really in them.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Unfortunately, a lot of substances are available very easily
0:35:05 > 0:35:06through the internet.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09There seems to be very little regulation,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11very difficult to control.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14You don't know what you're going to get in the packet.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17This is just one of the source of supply that we had,
0:35:17 > 0:35:21which ostensibly is supposed to be a growth hormone.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23In fact, when we analysed it,
0:35:23 > 0:35:25it did not contain any growth hormone at all.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28Growth hormone happens to be a fairly expensive drug.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31You might have to pay as much as £100 for a vial.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Fortunately, this is relatively harmless for someone misusing it,
0:35:35 > 0:35:37other than damaging their pocket.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40By not knowing what's in your counterfeit drugs,
0:35:40 > 0:35:43you could be playing Russian roulette with your life.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49And because of the potential profit
0:35:49 > 0:35:52to be made on performance-enhancing drugs,
0:35:52 > 0:35:56some are being pushed by the same people who deal in illicit drugs.
0:35:58 > 0:35:59What we're finding are
0:35:59 > 0:36:02the black market suppliers may be the same people
0:36:02 > 0:36:06who are selling hard drugs, the drugs like the cocaine and heroin.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09And the conditions these counterfeit drugs
0:36:09 > 0:36:11are being made in are shocking.
0:36:11 > 0:36:16People are making injectable materials in garages.
0:36:16 > 0:36:21That means that you may be injecting a load of bacteria like E. coli,
0:36:21 > 0:36:24which can cause serious harm, can even kill a person.
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Unfortunately, people who buy it have no idea
0:36:27 > 0:36:32because they take a lot of trouble on making the packaging look OK,
0:36:32 > 0:36:36but obviously they don't take the same care with what's inside.
0:36:36 > 0:36:39Erm... It's disgraceful.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44As well as monitoring the illegal supply chains of drugs,
0:36:44 > 0:36:48the laboratory at King's is also a key weapon in UK Anti-Doping's
0:36:48 > 0:36:52fight against the use of drugs in elite sport here in Britain.
0:36:53 > 0:36:57They analyse more than 7,000 blood and urine tests
0:36:57 > 0:36:59across 40 sports every year.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05But because athletes who want to cheat can take these drugs
0:37:05 > 0:37:08during training and not just on race day,
0:37:08 > 0:37:12UK Anti-Doping CEO Nicole Sapstead believes they have a difficult job.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18Whether we're actually catching people is incredibly
0:37:18 > 0:37:20difficult to quantify.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23I've always said that if you really want to be
0:37:23 > 0:37:27a sophisticated cheater, you're probably one step ahead of
0:37:27 > 0:37:32anti-doping organisations like us, but we do have some tools available.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35We have a tip-off line, which enables other athletes, or
0:37:35 > 0:37:39even the public, to tell us if they think that individuals are doping.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41We have a national registered testing pool,
0:37:41 > 0:37:44which means that they have to tell us where they're available
0:37:44 > 0:37:47to be tested every single day of the year.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51And then we are able to store samples to re-analyse and that
0:37:51 > 0:37:55in itself must be a frightening prospect for
0:37:55 > 0:37:58athletes who are choosing to dope.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01Samples can now be kept for up to ten years and tested when new
0:38:01 > 0:38:04techniques or methods are developed.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10This year, over 30 athletes from the Beijing Olympics and more
0:38:10 > 0:38:14than 20 from London who originally tested clean have been
0:38:14 > 0:38:15retested and come back positive.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30BUZZER
0:38:30 > 0:38:33So, the authorities do have some success.
0:38:35 > 0:38:39But when there's fame, glory, and millions of pounds on the line...
0:38:39 > 0:38:40BUZZER
0:38:40 > 0:38:43..it can become a cat and mouse game,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46as athletes try all sorts of ways to avoid being tested.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51And there are some who manage to get away with it.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53BUZZER
0:38:53 > 0:38:57Lance Armstrong doped for years without getting caught.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59So, how do they do it?
0:38:59 > 0:39:02Well, there are a number of ways to avoid giving
0:39:02 > 0:39:03a sample in the first place.
0:39:05 > 0:39:08Tim Montgomery has admitted to going on a cruise when
0:39:08 > 0:39:11he knew the officials were coming.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14And if there's nowhere to hide when the inspectors come,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17don't panic - to pass a urine test,
0:39:17 > 0:39:21you can use one of the weirdest devices I've ever come across.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25In his autobiography,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson admitted to using
0:39:28 > 0:39:32this strange gadget to pass drug tests before and after fights.
0:39:35 > 0:39:40So, I've just received this box and I'm quite sceptical about it,
0:39:40 > 0:39:45but I really want to see if it does what the makers claim it will.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49In this box is an extremely lifelike fake penis.
0:39:49 > 0:39:51And I'm about to show it to you.
0:39:51 > 0:39:53Those of you with a sensitive disposition should probably
0:39:53 > 0:39:55look away now.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57HE CHUCKLES
0:39:57 > 0:39:59So, this is... Wow! Wow!
0:40:01 > 0:40:04So, that is amazing.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07I was not expecting this to be that good,
0:40:07 > 0:40:10but this is really quite a convincing fake penis.
0:40:13 > 0:40:15Maybe a little small.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21I've always thought that training for elite high level sport
0:40:21 > 0:40:26would be, you know, quite glamorous and quite a noble endeavour.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31Instead, this is one of the least glamorous things I have ever done -
0:40:31 > 0:40:33making fake urine in a hotel room with
0:40:33 > 0:40:36a plastic penis in front of me,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38but I guess if you really want to win...
0:40:41 > 0:40:43This really feels like cheating,
0:40:43 > 0:40:47in a way that maybe taking a few pills or a few injections doesn't.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50This really is... Obviously you're doing something wrong
0:40:50 > 0:40:52if you've ordered this.
0:40:52 > 0:40:56What I'm quite impressed with about this is the level of
0:40:56 > 0:41:00attention to detail. This is a little sticky thermometer here.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03The hot pack should be facing away from my body.
0:41:03 > 0:41:06All right, so, I now use the safety pin
0:41:06 > 0:41:11to attach the bag of fake urine...
0:41:11 > 0:41:12Ow, oh... Argh!
0:41:14 > 0:41:17Why is it leaking?
0:41:17 > 0:41:19I've got it everywhere.
0:41:19 > 0:41:20Oh, no.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22Oh!
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Yeah, I think this is it.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28So this just straps round here.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32HE CHUCKLES
0:41:32 > 0:41:36So you've got to imagine that this is inside my trousers.
0:41:36 > 0:41:38OK, there is a tap under here.
0:41:38 > 0:41:42You've got to remember the Olympic inspector is standing right
0:41:42 > 0:41:44over my shoulder, watching.
0:41:44 > 0:41:48I can give it a bit of a squeeze with my arm. OK, here we go.
0:41:48 > 0:41:50HE LAUGHS
0:41:50 > 0:41:53I'm just getting it everywhere!
0:41:53 > 0:41:55OK, although it's a bit of a mess,
0:41:55 > 0:41:58I think if I had a few more goes, I could do a decent job at this.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01And you don't have to use fake urine.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04I could fill the bladder with real urine and that's what
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Mike Tyson was doing - using someone who was clean and using
0:42:07 > 0:42:08their urine to pass his test.
0:42:11 > 0:42:15This device may seem extreme but it shows that some athletes
0:42:15 > 0:42:16will do anything to win.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22The ultimate prize for somebody who wanted to cheat would be to find
0:42:22 > 0:42:25a way of doping that was completely untraceable.
0:42:31 > 0:42:34Research taking place at the University of Florida
0:42:34 > 0:42:35offers exactly that.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39The tantalising promise of an undetectable advantage,
0:42:39 > 0:42:43one gained by so-called gene doping.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46This is the future of performance enhancement.
0:42:46 > 0:42:49Making permanent changes to our bodies at the genetic level
0:42:49 > 0:42:52with just one simple injection.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57'Professor Lee Sweeney became involved in the world
0:42:57 > 0:43:00'of sports doping by accident, because of his research
0:43:00 > 0:43:03'into how to stop muscles wasting away as we get older.'
0:43:06 > 0:43:09That is a very fundamental medical or scientific ambition,
0:43:09 > 0:43:12- to try and stop ageing. - That's right.
0:43:12 > 0:43:14I always used to say to people
0:43:14 > 0:43:15in the lab, "What good is it
0:43:15 > 0:43:20"if you live 20 years longer if you can't walk around the room?"
0:43:20 > 0:43:23So I said we should focus on not making people live longer
0:43:23 > 0:43:27but we should focus on making them live better,
0:43:27 > 0:43:30especially by giving them more muscle
0:43:30 > 0:43:32so that they don't lose their mobility.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Muscles deteriorate in the elderly
0:43:35 > 0:43:38because their bodies stop producing IGF-1,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40the protein that makes muscles grow.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45So Lee figured out a way of topping up the IGF-1
0:43:45 > 0:43:48in the muscles of mice using gene therapy.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53And it turned out when we injected them in middle age and waited
0:43:53 > 0:43:56till they got old, they didn't lose any of their muscle strength.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59They were as strong when they were old as they were when they had been young.
0:43:59 > 0:44:03- You stopped age-related muscle loss?- On our first try.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06- Wow.- We were quite excited by this, as you might imagine.
0:44:06 > 0:44:10He had found a way to reboot the system in elderly mice,
0:44:10 > 0:44:14but his next result was even more surprising.
0:44:14 > 0:44:16If we injected them when they were really young,
0:44:16 > 0:44:20then they got much bigger muscles than they ever would have had,
0:44:20 > 0:44:23and they kept them through their whole life.
0:44:23 > 0:44:27Lee and his colleagues had invented what became known in the press
0:44:27 > 0:44:29as the Schwarzenegger mouse.
0:44:29 > 0:44:33Young mice whose muscles grew large without exercising.
0:44:33 > 0:44:35The idea of gene doping
0:44:35 > 0:44:36had been born.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Certainly got the attention of the athletic world,
0:44:40 > 0:44:44and I was immediately, the day that paper came out,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47I started getting phone calls and e-mails from athletes and coaches
0:44:47 > 0:44:49saying, "Is this something you can do?
0:44:49 > 0:44:52"Because I need it or my team needs it", or whatever.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55It was wild. I had no idea that was coming.
0:44:55 > 0:44:58So you're literally getting phone calls from people
0:44:58 > 0:44:59who have read your scientific paper.
0:44:59 > 0:45:02I got an e-mail from a coach in Pennsylvania,
0:45:02 > 0:45:05- wanting me to inject his entire team.- Really!
0:45:05 > 0:45:11Does some part of you want to yell at him and go, "This is not safe, these are children in your care"?
0:45:11 > 0:45:15I tried to very politely explain all of the reasons
0:45:15 > 0:45:18this was a bad thing and a rotten thing to even ask.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21'But despite the initial success,
0:45:21 > 0:45:26'ten years on, Lee's treatment remains unproven in humans.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28'He's now trying to cure a devastating illness
0:45:28 > 0:45:32'called muscular dystrophy that affects young boys,
0:45:32 > 0:45:35'focusing on the other main protein involved in muscle growth,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38'myostatin.'
0:45:38 > 0:45:41IGF-1 drives muscle growth,
0:45:41 > 0:45:43myostatin is there to put the brake on muscle growth,
0:45:43 > 0:45:47so the body maintains its muscle mass by creating a balance
0:45:47 > 0:45:51between how much IGF-1 there is and how much myostatin there is in the muscle.
0:45:51 > 0:45:55So you block the myostatin and that allows the muscles to grow freely?
0:45:55 > 0:45:58Yeah, cos now the IGF-1 signalling is unchecked
0:45:58 > 0:46:00and so you can get more muscle.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02'A single injection to the liver
0:46:02 > 0:46:06'stops myostatin working throughout the body,
0:46:06 > 0:46:08'making all the muscles grow larger
0:46:08 > 0:46:11'like the mouse you can see on the right.'
0:46:11 > 0:46:14So this one is really broad across the shoulders.
0:46:14 > 0:46:18He does look like he's been in the gym.
0:46:18 > 0:46:20The muscles in this animal could be anywhere
0:46:20 > 0:46:24- from 25-50% larger than normal. - Really?
0:46:24 > 0:46:27All of the brakes have been taken off and IGF-1 is allowed
0:46:27 > 0:46:32to make as much muscle as it can. This guy has never exercised.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35- This guy just sits in the cage and has giant muscles.- Wow.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40'But when you see the myostatin mouse running alongside a normal mouse,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43'it becomes obvious that muscles aren't everything in sport.'
0:46:43 > 0:46:46So you really can see the difference between those two.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48That is extraordinary.
0:46:48 > 0:46:52It looks like a carthorse, he's just sort of slogging away.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55- It is the bodybuilder trying to run the marathon.- Yeah.
0:46:55 > 0:47:00Whereas this other one is very agile and nimble.
0:47:00 > 0:47:03And can take off in quick little spurts.
0:47:03 > 0:47:06So he is really the Mr Universe of mice. He's not a useful size,
0:47:06 > 0:47:08he's just impressive.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12He could probably hold his own at weightlifting
0:47:12 > 0:47:16and certainly at calendar poses, but that's about it.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19I guess I began thinking about doping,
0:47:19 > 0:47:23thinking about using hormones that our bodies naturally make
0:47:23 > 0:47:25to exaggerate the body's normal state.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28And now we're talking about gene therapy,
0:47:28 > 0:47:32about molecules that block hormones in very complicated, specific ways.
0:47:32 > 0:47:35This seems almost impossible to regulate
0:47:35 > 0:47:38or govern or prevent people doing,
0:47:38 > 0:47:40is that the sense you have?
0:47:40 > 0:47:44Well, you know, certainly, agencies like Wada are quite concerned
0:47:44 > 0:47:47by this because there are lots of different strategies
0:47:47 > 0:47:50you could use once you get into gene therapy
0:47:50 > 0:47:54that could elude detection, so I think it will be an arms race
0:47:54 > 0:47:58once the doors open and gene therapy becomes something
0:47:58 > 0:48:01the athletes can access, and at that point,
0:48:01 > 0:48:03it's going to be tough to keep up.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09So all the research that I've seen today that Lee's doing
0:48:09 > 0:48:13is incredibly exciting, and I spent the day really hoping
0:48:13 > 0:48:17that he succeeds, not just in curing fatal childhood illnesses
0:48:17 > 0:48:21but also making old age better for all of us, but the problem is
0:48:21 > 0:48:24that the more successful that research is,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28the easier it is to cheat as an athlete.
0:48:28 > 0:48:30But what if there was a way to legally increase
0:48:30 > 0:48:34your sporting prowess and make your way to fame and fortune?
0:48:38 > 0:48:40Almost everyone in the UK begins their day
0:48:40 > 0:48:41with a cup of tea or coffee,
0:48:41 > 0:48:44and that's because it contains caffeine.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48If you're anything like me, you need that just to survive the morning,
0:48:48 > 0:48:51but how does caffeine affect athletic performance?
0:48:51 > 0:48:55To answer that question, I've roped in my identical twin brother, Chris.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57How are you feeling, Chris?
0:48:57 > 0:49:00Lousy, because Xand has deprived me of caffeine for 48 hours.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03Can we get on with this?
0:49:03 > 0:49:06'We've gone without tea or coffee for two days because this afternoon
0:49:06 > 0:49:08'one of us is going to be doped with caffeine
0:49:08 > 0:49:11'by sports nutritionist Dr Mayur Ranchordas.'
0:49:13 > 0:49:15So, Mayur, what's the plan today?
0:49:15 > 0:49:19We're going to do a battery of tests to get your baseline measures,
0:49:19 > 0:49:22so we're going to measure your reaction time,
0:49:22 > 0:49:25look at your grip strength,
0:49:25 > 0:49:28see how high you can jump
0:49:28 > 0:49:32and we'll finish off with a 1km time trial on the treadmill.
0:49:35 > 0:49:40'After we've seen how we perform without caffeine, it's time to dope.'
0:49:40 > 0:49:43I have the gums. Chew those for me, please.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45All right, off we go.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50Why can't we just have a cup of coffee?
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Because the mode of delivery with the gum means that you absorb
0:49:53 > 0:49:57the caffeine in your mouth, which basically means that
0:49:57 > 0:50:00your plasma caffeine levels increase quicker,
0:50:00 > 0:50:04so it's a faster-acting method of delivery
0:50:04 > 0:50:06compared to a cup of coffee.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09'It takes 20 minutes for caffeine to hit peak concentration
0:50:09 > 0:50:11'in the blood stream...'
0:50:11 > 0:50:12Here we go!
0:50:12 > 0:50:15'..and then it's time to do our tests again.'
0:50:16 > 0:50:19This is pathetic, on your left.
0:50:20 > 0:50:25'One of us has been given a 300 milligram dose.'
0:50:25 > 0:50:26- 9.4.- Read it and weep.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29'That's around the same as two strong cups of coffee.
0:50:29 > 0:50:33'While the other has chewed on a placebo.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36'It's thought that caffeine improves performance
0:50:36 > 0:50:39'by affecting the central nervous system.'
0:50:39 > 0:50:44We know that it reduces your perception of effort during exercise.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49It can improve the ability to produce strength and power.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54We know it can keep you alert and enhance your reaction time.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59That's good, that one. 33.
0:51:00 > 0:51:04'So, did it work on us? The results were pretty convincing.
0:51:04 > 0:51:08'I was the one who got doped while Chris got the placebo,
0:51:08 > 0:51:10'and in every test except the hand grip,
0:51:10 > 0:51:14'my performance improved over the baseline tests.'
0:51:14 > 0:51:17So with the gum, I got 2% better over a kilometre
0:51:17 > 0:51:21and Chris got 1.5% worse.
0:51:21 > 0:51:24The 1-2% improvement is the difference between
0:51:24 > 0:51:28getting a medal and finishing outside of the top three.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32'And of course, winning a medal can bring fame and glory
0:51:32 > 0:51:35'and can secure that lucrative sponsorship deal.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38'There's now a large body of evidence that shows caffeine
0:51:38 > 0:51:42'improves performance in a range of sports by up to 3%,
0:51:42 > 0:51:44'and athletes do use it.
0:51:44 > 0:51:48'Mayur recommends it to the Premier League footballer players he advises.'
0:51:50 > 0:51:53'But if it works, then why isn't banned?'
0:51:54 > 0:51:57The problem you have with trying to ban caffeine is that
0:51:57 > 0:52:02it's so widely available, you have it in cola, energy drinks,
0:52:02 > 0:52:04chocolate, tea, coffee,
0:52:04 > 0:52:06so trying to monitor that,
0:52:06 > 0:52:08you're entering this real grey zone area.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12At that point, surely, you could start to think about banning,
0:52:12 > 0:52:15I don't know, bananas. Presumably, you could do a trial
0:52:15 > 0:52:18that proved bananas were better than no bananas for performance.
0:52:18 > 0:52:21Exactly, it's the whole carbohydrate argument that if you give
0:52:21 > 0:52:24someone carbohydrate you can extend performance and we know that
0:52:24 > 0:52:26if you give someone a carbohydrate drink,
0:52:26 > 0:52:29we know you can enhance performance that way,
0:52:29 > 0:52:30so where do you draw the line?
0:52:33 > 0:52:37From specialist nutrition to hi-tech equipment,
0:52:37 > 0:52:40every aspect of an athlete's life has the potential to be made over.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44And the latest place that they're looking to improve performance,
0:52:44 > 0:52:46completely legally, is in the brain.
0:52:50 > 0:52:54Today, Chris and I are taking part in another test...
0:52:57 > 0:53:02..to see if we can change the way our brains behave during exercise.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05- Hi, Lex. Chris.- Hiya, Chris.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07- Hi, I'm Xand. - Hi, Xand, nice to meet you.
0:53:07 > 0:53:08Very nice to meet you.
0:53:08 > 0:53:12'The man who will be playing with our minds is Dr Lex Mauger.'
0:53:12 > 0:53:14We'll be performing a technique on you
0:53:14 > 0:53:16called transcranial direct current stimulation.
0:53:16 > 0:53:18So what were going to be doing is passing
0:53:18 > 0:53:22a very mild electrical current over an area of the brain
0:53:22 > 0:53:24called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex,
0:53:24 > 0:53:28and the intention of that is to try to reduce the pain that you feel during exercise,
0:53:28 > 0:53:30and we expect the effect of that
0:53:30 > 0:53:32is to improve your endurance performance.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36So you're running an electrical current through our brains?
0:53:36 > 0:53:39- Essentially, yes. - Is that going to hurt?
0:53:39 > 0:53:41No, the sensation that you should feel during this
0:53:41 > 0:53:43is a mild tingling sensation.
0:53:43 > 0:53:46Maybe a slight burning, perhaps a bit of itching,
0:53:46 > 0:53:48but that should be fairly transient.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51You might feel it for the first few seconds or couple of minutes.
0:53:53 > 0:53:56'Lex's research has shown this kind of brain stimulation
0:53:56 > 0:53:59'can make athletes push themselves further
0:53:59 > 0:54:01'because they feel less pain.'
0:54:01 > 0:54:03That is interesting to me, I guess,
0:54:03 > 0:54:06how much pain is involved in athletic performance?
0:54:06 > 0:54:09The main reason that I don't run fast a lot is cos it hurts.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13- Like when we ran the marathon. - That's laziness, that's not pain.
0:54:13 > 0:54:15It was not that the pain was unendurable,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19it was that I was going to put up with pain for another four hours.
0:54:19 > 0:54:21Four and a half, as it turned out!
0:54:24 > 0:54:26'Lex wants to know whether brain stimulation
0:54:26 > 0:54:29'will help us cycle faster for longer.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31'One of us will be stimulated
0:54:31 > 0:54:34'while the other will be receiving a sham treatment.'
0:54:36 > 0:54:38So we're ready to go with the stimulation now.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41We're going to ask you to sit quietly for 10 minutes.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46'We'll both feel the same sensations...
0:54:46 > 0:54:51'but neither one of us will know who's getting the real thing.'
0:54:51 > 0:54:53That's quite unpleasant.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Oh...
0:54:55 > 0:54:59It's like a little needle being stuck in my shoulder and in my forehead.
0:55:02 > 0:55:07- Stimulation is over.- Right, up you go, we'll get you on the bikes.
0:55:07 > 0:55:11'We have to cycle 8km as fast as we can.'
0:55:11 > 0:55:14We're going to go in three, two, one...
0:55:14 > 0:55:15Off you go.
0:55:19 > 0:55:22'During the race, Lex monitors our breathing and heart rate
0:55:22 > 0:55:26'to see if our effort decreases as the pain sets in.'
0:55:28 > 0:55:30'In his research to date, Lex has shown
0:55:30 > 0:55:33'that an athlete cycling until exhaustion
0:55:33 > 0:55:35'can improve their performance by up to 20%.'
0:55:37 > 0:55:40'Enough to win you the Olympic marathon by half an hour.'
0:55:42 > 0:55:43'But for this test,
0:55:43 > 0:55:46'he has two twin brothers competing against each other.'
0:55:49 > 0:55:52'And there's no scientific way of factoring in the rivalry between us.'
0:55:57 > 0:56:00'Because Chris cycles to and from work every day,
0:56:00 > 0:56:02'I sort of expect him to beat me.'
0:56:05 > 0:56:10'But as we get close to the end, I'm in the lead.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13'And I stay there until the finish line.'
0:56:16 > 0:56:19'An unexpected win to me.
0:56:19 > 0:56:22'And Chris suspects I've been stimulated.'
0:56:22 > 0:56:24You were stimming!
0:56:27 > 0:56:29You've been cheating with your brain.
0:56:29 > 0:56:31You've been electrically doping.
0:56:31 > 0:56:34If you found out now that I was the one that was stimmed,
0:56:34 > 0:56:38- would you feel like I'd cheated? - Yes.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41But you'd just have been a baby and not tried.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43'And Chris was right.
0:56:43 > 0:56:45'Lex had stimulated my brain.'
0:56:48 > 0:56:49'Not only did I win
0:56:49 > 0:56:52'but the metabolic data showed I'd pushed my body harder.
0:56:52 > 0:56:56'Obviously this wasn't a scientific experiment.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59'But our test does back up Lex's impressive results
0:56:59 > 0:57:03'in the lab, where he's shown massive gains in performance.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05'For some athletes, that means
0:57:05 > 0:57:09'transcranial direct current stimulation is worth trying.'
0:57:11 > 0:57:14I think it's likely that teams are doing this already and some
0:57:14 > 0:57:18have been fairly open about its use and have actually been
0:57:18 > 0:57:20partnered with companies producing these devices,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23but it's important to note that this is not illegal.
0:57:23 > 0:57:24It's not controlled by anti-doping.
0:57:24 > 0:57:27It's something that athletes can engage in if they want to.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30They're not going to get penalised for doing this.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36'While this technique may be unproven so far, it's these kinds of
0:57:36 > 0:57:40'performance-enhancers that will become more common in the future,
0:57:40 > 0:57:42'as athletes try harder to get around the system.'
0:57:45 > 0:57:48For many people, it's devastating to hear
0:57:48 > 0:57:52that their sporting heroes have been cheating to win.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56The morality of the entire sports industry can come under question.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02Because the rewards of success are so great for elite athletes,
0:58:02 > 0:58:06they seem more and more willing to experiment with their bodies.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08As a doctor, the people I'm really worried about
0:58:08 > 0:58:10are the general public.
0:58:10 > 0:58:13Because the evidence is now clear that the effects
0:58:13 > 0:58:16of performance-enhancing drugs on the body can be shocking.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21From deadly heart conditions to permanent brain damage
0:58:21 > 0:58:23and even organ failure.
0:58:23 > 0:58:28The risks associated with taking these substances are terrifying.
0:58:30 > 0:58:35And my concern is that as doping behaviour becomes normalised
0:58:35 > 0:58:38in amateur sports and in gyms across the country,
0:58:38 > 0:58:42it's the next generation who will be most at risk.