Growth Hormone in Athletes

Although the primary use of growth hormone was for short children, other people have found a use for it. Athletes began to use it to boost their performance in all types of sports. The use of HGH first came into the public’s eyes in the 1988 Tour de France, where several cyclists were arrested for using the growth hormone.⁴ HGH is now banned from the Olympics and other major sports competitions as a result. Even without all of the research, the ban of growth hormone for the Olympics gives strong evidence that athletes are using it, and using it effectively to increase performance. One of the best examples of a performance increase due to growth hormone was a test done in 2003 on Stuart Stevens, who served as a guinea pig for tests of growth hormone and other substances to see how they would improve his performance for a long distance cycling race.² 

This 8 month test of various substances improved his performance dramatically.² Not all of the performance boost can be attributed to growth hormone, as he was taking steroids and other performance boosters. However, one significant result of his HGH use was better vision.² He reported that his vision became perfect while using the growth hormone, and once he discontinued its use his sight returned to its previous state of nearly requiring glasses.² Another example comes from a competition level bodybuilder in Ireland who reported that “…It [HGH] was certainly more effective in building muscle than any course of steroids.”³ Since growth hormone is banned from major competitions, extensive reporting of high level athletes use of the hormone is not available due to the required secrecy of its use. Finally, because growth hormone is produced naturally by the body, creating a method to detect illegal use of the substance in athletes is difficult. It is hoped that a valid solution to the problem will be ready in time for the Athens Olympics in 2004.

Page 4: Use of HGH by Athletes- Clinical Evidence

2. Knapp, Gwen. “Up-close tale of 8 months on drugs.” San Francisco Chronicle 23 Oct. 2003: C1.

3. Evans, Gavin. “INVESTIGATION: Stronger for longer: It’s the drug of choice for competitive body builders and international athletes, but new trials suggest human growth hormone may also be a miracle cure for ageing.” Observer Magazine 17 Aug. 2003: 24.

4. O’Mathuna, Donal. “Effect on strength and muscle mass.” Alternative Medicine Alert June 2002 v5 i6 p65(4).