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Athletes are always looking for an edge to be the best.
Whether it's the extra hours in the gym or weight room, or the additional miles run each week, developing greater strength, more speed and quicker reflexes can be an insatiable quest.
Sometimes that desire can cross the line, other times it can push that line. One such case recently brought the issue to national prominence.
Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals, the new single-season home run king for major league baseball, not only grabbed America's attention with his prowess with the bat, but also raised eyebrows by the revelation he was using an over-the-counter product to spur muscle growth.
Androstenedione (an-dro-steen-DIE-own) is a legal prohormone sold by some health food and supplement stores. When ingested it metabolizes into testosterone, which, among other things, promotes muscle growth.
"Andro," while legally sold in the United States, is a banned substance - its use is banned by the NFL, the NCAA and the International Olympic Committee. While its use is not encouraged, the substance is not prohibited by major league baseball or the NBA.
It is also not prohibited by the Indiana State High School Athletic Association.
'We're saying because it is a legal drug and can be bought over the counter, there's no penalty for a student-athlete who uses that,' IHSAA commissioner Bob Gardner told Associated Press Wednesday. 'But we don't think our coaches and school personnel should be promoting or encouraging that, but should leave that to the individual student-athlete, his or her parents and physician.'
Gardner said a similar position is being taken by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which advised its members that school personnel and coaches should not supply or encourage the use of any drug, medication or food supplement solely to enhance athletic performance.
Dr. Thomas Krizmanich, of Northern Indiana Sports and Orthopedics, said that the use of the prohormone is still relatively new and its safety and side effects aren't fully know as yet.
"While I'm not an expert on this substance, I do know it's a precursor to testosterone. The Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) still classifies it as a dietary supplement," he said.
Krizmanich said the fact that the NFL and the Olympic Committee have banned it should tell young athletes that Andro is not something they should take.
"I'm afraid that what McGwire has done is give the wrong example to a lot of young athletes by telling them they can build their muscles by using a substance that we don't know how it will effect them long-term," he said.
Krizmanich said be believes the FDA will eventually classify Andro as a sterioid.
Locally, area high school athletic directors are aware of the issue, but are investigating what policy, if any, they should adopt in regard to Andro.
"I'm starting my 16th year here in Warsaw and we've never had the issue of this supplement come up before," said David Fulkerson, athletic director for Warsaw Community High School. "We have a testing program, it's drug testing, not these types of substances.
"I think it's something we need to take a look at," Fulkerson added. "I'll need to talk with the coaches and see if this is something we need to address."
Tippecanoe Valley Athletic Director Duane Burkhart said the use of any substance to enhance performance, even if it is purchased legally over the counter, would violate the district's "Viking code" without a doctor's prescription.
"Athletes are to be drug-free - including tobacco," he said. "And we certainly don't encourage our athletes to take any of these kinds of enhancements. If they do, they would be violating our Viking code."
Obtaining Andro would be difficult for a student athlete in Kosciusko County, even if they had a desire to use the muscle-building supplement. A survey of county drugstores, health-food and supplement stores, and gyms and health spas found no establishment selling the product.
Only one had in the past - the Fitness Shop in Warsaw had sold the substance. According to a Fitness Shop employee, who refused to be identified, the private gym stocked the supplement but sold only one bottle and returned the remaining stock after it sat on the shelf for more than four months. The supplement sold for $80 for a 50-tablet bottle.
