- Lisa Dillman
Los Angeles Times
Concern and interest about the Touretski case is not limited to
Australia.
Dr. Steven Ungerleider, an American psychologist and author, just
has
completed a book to be released next month, "Faust's Gold:
Inside the East German Doping Machine." The book details the
revelations of the legal proceedings against former German Democratic
Republic (GDR) coaches, doctors and sports officials who confessed
to conducting "ruthless and destructive medical experiments"
on young Olympic caliber athletes at training camps. "It looks
rather suspicious," Ungerleider said of the Australian case.
"We don't know for sure. These are allegations. At first blush,
it looks very suspicious that he's the coach of these very prominent
swimmers. It's very unfortunate. It does cast a very dark cloud
over the program. It would be very disturbing if it turns out some
of the kids were actually using [drugs] and bypassing the drug tests
or somehow masking them . . ."
Lisa Dillman
Los Angeles Times April 22, 2001
The Berlin
courtroom still had the fenced enclosure used during the trials
of Nazi war criminals, which seemed appropriate to the psychologist.
Here, again, were men and women who claimed they were only following
orders when they abused their countrymen, who argued that if they
hadn't performed the experiments someone else would have, who refused
to accept responsibility for the physical and emotional destruction
they had caused. Eugene psychologist Steven Ungerleider, versed
in the best and worst of human nature, watched in fascination. Before
him was what happened when a small, totalitarian government tried
to flex its muscles literally by dominating the international sports
arena. He sat among women who had been the best and brightest of
East Germany's athletes track stars and swimmers who brought glory
to their country two and three decades earlier.
But now
the women knew that the glory was false. They understood why their
bodies had changed freakishly. Why some were victims of cancers
and other unusual illnesses. Why so many of their children were
born with deformities. The women had been guinea pigs for a systematic
program of doping to improve athletic performance, a program known
as State Planning Theme 14.25 that was begun in the 1950s to enhance
East Germany's athletic prestige in the world.
Abby Haight
Oregonian, July 2001
University
of Texas graduate Dr. Steven Ungerleider, a sports psychologist
and Olympics expert, predicted the Salt Lake City Games will have
their share of doping revelations despite a new drug testing regimen.
"We still have pockets of doping around the world," said
Ungerleider, who recently visited Austin to promote his new book,
Faust's Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine.
"This will bear out in Salt Lake, as well. I don't think much
has changed. The testing is more sophisticated, but for every talented
scientist, there are athletes who know as much about the pharmacology
as the experts." Though security matters have eclipsed all
else in the buildup to these Winter Games, Ungerleider said the
drug issue continues to erode the Olympics' image.
"There's cynicism," he said. "The International Olympic
Committee has never acknowledged the German doping situation. They
need to step forward and acknowledge that it happened, and apologize."
Ungerleider's book explores the German Democratic Republic's secret
plan that systematically fed performance enhancing drugs to more
than 10,000 young athletes for almost 40 years.
Ungerleider
is not without experience. When he was competing in gymnastics for
UT, Ungerleider used to campaign for his sport's status by knocking
heads with a Longhorns icon. "I used to fight with Darrell
Royal," Ungerleider said.
Cathy Harasta
Dallas Morning News, Nov 2001
The ruling
yesterday raised the question of what results might be changed
in the future, and even whether it might be proper to adjust results
from the
past. For example, the decision brought renewed calls for the Olympic
committee to consider awarding gold medals, or at least an apology,
to American swimmers who lost to East German athletes who were taking
drugs. The state sponsored system of drug use has been well documented
in trials since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but the Olympic committee
has so far refused to issue duplicate gold medals to American swimmers,
saying it was impossible to rewrite history. But that is exactly
what Rogge did yesterday.
"I
admire Jacques Rogge stepping up and setting a new threshold for
ethical behavior," said Steven Ungerleider, a psychologist
and author of "Faust's Gold," a book about the East German
doping machine. "But I'm a little outraged. The I.O.C. needs
to look very hard at other cases, like the American swimmers."
With its quick action, the Olympic committee separated itself from
the regime of Juan Antonio Samaranch, who stepped down as president
last July.
Jere Longman
New York Times Feb, 2002
Much of the same thinking is echoed by Rene Wenzel and Angus Fraser,
the coach and masseur, respectively, of the 1990 US junior cycling
team, who are charged by Strock and Kaiter of facilitating the use
of banned substances on the young cyclists. In a chilling comparison,
Steven Ungerleider, a psychologist hired by Strock's lawyers and
the author of a book on the abuses of drugs in the German Democratic
Republic, "Faust's Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine",
compares what happened to Strock and Kaiter to what was done to
young athletes in the GDR. "Young athletes are typically vulnerable
and very susceptible to the 'power and authority' of their coach/mentor,"
says Ungerleider."Often coaches will promise winning outcomes
if they only follow very specific training techniques, behavior
patterns, and dietary strategies.
Suddendeutch Zeitung, German press
February 2004
"Ewald bridged the gap from the Nazi era, and he brought with
him an unfortunate wealth of information about pharmaceuticals and
an attitude of winning at all costs, winning that had to do with
the international political stage," Steven Ungerleider, author
of "Faust's Gold" (St. Martin's Press, 2001), which detailed
the East German doping system, said yesterday. While many suspected
that East German athletes were cheating, the International Olympic
Committee looked the other way. Upon becoming president of the I.O.C.
in 1980, Juan Antonio Samaranch grew primarily concerned with unifying
an Olympic movement driven by American and Soviet boycotts, not
with halting drug use. In 1985, Mr. Samaranch presented Mr. Ewald
with the Olympic Order, the highest honor in international sports,
in an effort to prevent East Germany from boycotting the 1988 Summer
Games in Seoul, South Korea. This would later prove to be one of
Mr. Samaranch's most embarrassing moments. Every medal won by East
Germany has now been tainted by the specter of drug use, but the
I.O.C. has declined to revoke any of the medals, saying that history
cannot be rewritten.
New York Times Obituary
on
Manfred Ewald; head official of GDR doping
October 23/2002
The IOC has consistently declined to rewrite history to award Babashoff,
for instance, the gold medals she would have won if the East Germans
had not been cheating. In the aftermath of the judging scandal at
the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, which resulted in duplicate
golds being awarded to the Canadian and Russian pairs skaters, some
have called for a renewed look at the results from Games dominated
by East Germany. Steven Ungerleider, a sports psychologist whose
2001 book "Faust's Gold" recounts the German doping trials,
suggested Wednesday that the IOC need not "rewrite history
and give Shirley, for instance, her medals."
"But
what [the IOC] does need to do is apologize apologize to all the
American ladies and all the others who got beaten up here,"
he said.
Obituary of Manfred Ewald
Los Angeles Times
October 22/2002
"One
hopes his death marks the end of an era of state sponsored and implemented
doping of athletes, many of whom were not in position to understand
what was being done to them," said Richard Pound, chairman
of the World Anti Doping Agency. Mr. Ewald was sentenced to 22 months
in jail July 18, 2000, but given probation because of his poor health.
"He
was an outrageous character," said Steven Ungerleider, whose
book, "Faust's Gold," details the German doping trials.
"Even in the very end, he refused to apologize or even acknowledge
this took place."
Phil Hersh
Obituary of Manfred Ewald
Chicago Tribune, October 25, 2002
Despite
estimates that as many as 10,000 East German athletes were given
steroids and other dangerous drugs by the coaches and officials
who constructed the country's powerful Olympic teams of the 1970s
and '80s, only 179 filed claims for medical bill assistance by Monday's
deadline. "It's an outrage and it's despicable how the Germans
have hurled insult on top of insult at these athletes," said
Steven Ungerleider, the research psychologist who wrote "Faust's
Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine." In addition to
a $10,000 ceiling on claims, the panel that instituted the victims'
compensation fund intimidated many of the former East German athletes
by linking conditions to the claims. One, the athlete had to produce
verification by an independent doctor that the drug use caused the
respective condition. Two, the conditions were subject to disclosure
in the media.
Lance Pugmire
Los Angeles Times, April 1/2003
Sports federations
such as USA Track & Field are no longer the lead players
in doping cases involving U.S. athletes. The newly formed U.S. Anti
Doping Agency took over that role after the Sydney Olympics; during
the Games, the IOC oversees doping protocols. WADA has been working
for several months on a process called "harmonization"
making anti doping rules consistent from nation to nation. "Now
we need harmonization for ethical conduct," said Steven Ungerleider,
an Oregon research psychologist who wrote the book, "Faust's
Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine." "The United
States has not been very forthcoming in that department," he
said, adding that he "absolutely" supports the call for
an investigation into Jerome Young's test and appeal.
Alan Abrahamson
Los Angeles Times, Sept. 2003
"If
all this turns out to be true," Dick Pound, head of the Montreal
based World Anti Doping Agency, said, "it's even more clear
than ever that USATF is totally out of control." He added,
"There's a major credibility gap here. I don't want to make
it sound like the United States is the only [nation] doping. It's
not. But this capacity for double think and denial is becoming a
joke." Steven Ungerleider, an Oregon researcher who wrote a
highly acclaimed book about the state sponsored East German doping
program of a generation ago, said he recalled interviewing those
involved with the East German system, and having them insist that
the U.S. sports scene also had "doping docs and very smart
chemists and it would just be a matter of time when the truth came
out. Now they get to laugh at us," he said.
Los Angeles Times
October 2003
Steven Ungerleider, a research psychologist who wrote the book ``Faust's
Gold'' about the East German doping program, said others eagerly
accept those offers. ``There are labs all over the world where athletes
can call a 1 800 number and say, `Can you run a urine test for me
because I've got a competition this weekend and I need to know if
I'll pass it,' '' Ungerleider said. ``They're very sophisticated
and this is their business, 24/7.'' Ungerleider recalled that when
he was writing his book about the East German program, many of the
doctors involved warned him that America wasn't so innocent, either.
``They always said, `Someday soon, there will be skeletons dropping
out of your closet,' '' Ungerleider said. `` `You will find a lot
of your doctors and coaches have been doping for years.' I've been
thinking about that a lot in the last week.''
Mark Eammons
San Jose Mercury News
October 2003
"If
we really wanted to go after it, we'd have undercover sting operations
aimed at our elite athletes," one researcher noted. "And
that ain't going to happen." Still, the anti doping community
was cheered by what it regards as the biggest breakthrough since
Canada's Ben Johnson was stripped of his 100 meter gold medal at
the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. "The noose is tightening,"
says Dick Pound, the Canadian attorney who heads the World Anti
Doping Agency. "We're getting to the point where you can run,
but you can't hide." Steven Ungerleider, author of "Faust's
Gold: Inside the East German Doping Machine," hopes that by
warning athletes about these newer, more sophisticated tests, this
scandal will produce "a sea change" or, at the very least,
a start at cleaning up athletics. True sports fans can only hope
it's not a false start.
Mark Starr, senior correspondent
NEWSWEEK, Nov 2003
"What we have uncovered appears to be intentional doping of
the worst
sort," USADA Chief Executive Officer Terry Madden said last
month. "This is a conspiracy involving chemists, coaches and
certain athletes using what they developed to be 'undetectable'
designer steroids." At the very least, THG "is right up
there on the creativity scale," said Steven Ungerleider, an
author who wrote about the state sponsored East German doping program
of a generation ago. Catlin said he doesn't know whether the steroid
was designed to disintegrate in testing or whether that was simply
a coincidence. Either way, after making his identification, he had
more work to do.
Los Angeles
Times
June 2003
Sport physician,
Bob Goldman, asked 198 Olympic level U.S. athletes whether they
would be willing to take a banned substance if they were guaranteed
to win and not get caught; 195 said yes. More than half said they
would take the drug if it would enable them to win every competition
for five years but then kill them. If that sounds farfetched, Steven
Ungerleider, an Oregon sports psychologist who has consulted with
U.S. Olympic athletes, said other studies have found similar results.
``There is a mentality among competitive athletes that they will
do anything to win,'' he said.
San Jose Mercury News
November 2003
''I think Balco is the tip of the iceberg,'' said Steven Ungerleider,
a sports psychologist in Eugene, Ore., and author of ''Faust's Gold,''
which depicted the state sponsored doping system in the former East
Germany. ''I think there are probably a dozen labs working with
athletes and chemists to figure out designer drugs and not get caught.''
Ungerleider,
the sports psychologist from Oregon, said: ''We're caught up in
a culture of aggression and entertainment and 'whatever it takes
to get it done.' I'm concerned about the message we are sending
to our children that, in order to play well, you have to be juiced
up.''
New York Times feature
on drug testing
Nov 17/2003
As described
in the book "Faust's Gold," (St. Martin's Press, 2001)
written by an American psychologist, Dr. Steven Ungerleider, Andreas
(Krieger) had a dramatic encounter with the presiding judge. First,
Andreas presented a wrinkled photograph of himself as Heidi. Then
he said of the East German officials, "They just used me like
a machine."He described hating his body, and spoke of a mind
"crazy with panic," filled with thoughts of suicide. He
told of the sex change procedure, and in a moment of brutal poignancy,
said of his mother, "She says no matter who I am, boy or girl,
she will always love me."Ewald and Hoppner were both convicted
of accessory to the intentional bodily harm of athletes and were
given probation. Upon testifying, Andreas said he lost his fear
of the two men. And he got some confirmation of his beliefs from
the verdicts. "The words used in court were that the giving
of relatively high doses of Oral Turinabol to a girl around puberty
has significantly contributed to development into transsexuality,"said
Dr. Werner Franke, the molecular biologist whose research into the
East German doping system formed the basis of the criminal prosecutions.
Although
the complex decision to have a sex change could not precisely be
connected to steroids, the psychologist Ungerleider said, "Emotional
fallout from high levels of testosterone can make people unsure
who they are."
Jere Longman, Olympic Correspondent
NY Times feature on steroids and Andreas Krieger
February 2004
“Marion
Jones has served as an ambassador for her sport with her graciousness,
intelligence and outstanding achievement, said Dr. Steven Ungerleider,
a psychologist who has worked with a number of Olympic athletes
and who wrote the book "Faust's Gold" about East Germany's
doping program.
"I
think she's a very decent person," Ungerleider said. "Having
said that, I'm a bit saddened because she's made some very bad decisions.
We all have to be real careful who we associate with. We are entering
a new threshold of integrity, where it is no longer sufficient for
an athlete to sign a disclosure form saying that he or she is drug
free. Athletes at the elite level have to take complete responsibility
for their behavior."
New York Times feature
on Marion Jones
Feb 4th /2004
The IMG model incorporates the mental development, video work and
principles espoused by tennis teacher Nick Bollettieri, the impetus
behind the sprawling IMG campus here who has cultivated teenage
tennis sensations such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles
and Anna Kournikova.
Steven
Ungerleider, a psychologist who has worked with U.S. Olympic athletes
for more than 20 years in the Eugene, Ore., area, studied Bollettieri's
work with Sampras when he was young in which he used a camera fixed
on certain body parts to reveal how he reacted to a bad shot or
blown point. Bollettieri could point out a particular muscle that
remained tightened, indicating the youngster had not really gotten
over the mistake, then revealed how much more poorly Sampras played
when in that condition.
"I
think it really is a terrific approach," Ungerleider said.
"I was down there four or five years ago and I went through
some of the same exercises myself [while playing tennis] and it
was very educational, because you are getting visual feedback, but
usually the mental coach will also ask you to do some breathing
and check in on how intense you are with verbal or feedback as well."
Jason La Canfora
Washington Post, Feb 12/2004
"We are a culture that loves winning: we love hard hitting
NFL players, fast
sprinters, record shattering swimmers.We've bought into the notion
of winning at all costs," notes Steven Ungerleider, a research
psychologist in Eugene, Ore., and author of "Faust's Gold:
Inside the East German Doping Machine."
Athletes
certainly feel the pressure to win. Even though excessive steroid
use can damage the liver and has been linked with pancreatic cancer
and heart disease, athletes are still willing to risk their health
for an edge. A study several years ago in North Carolina asked athletes
if they would take a substance that would guarantee them a gold
medal, but also shorten their lifespan by several years. Half of
those surveyed said they would. "For two to three decades,
we've had pockets of coaches, trainers and even doctors supplying
drugs to elite athletes in the U.S.," Ungerleider says. "We
have labs today where coaches and trainers can [get quick access]
to the drugs they want. BALCO is definitely the tip of the iceberg."
Forbes Magazine/ Feb
2004
Conspicuous by their absence in the indictment were the high profile
athletes who since October have testified before the grand jury
at the San Francisco federal building ranging from Barry Bonds to
track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery to Raiders linebacker
Bill Romanowski. Athletes were given limited immunity for their
testimony. But authorities could prosecute them if there are indications
they committed perjury. Steven Ungerleider, an Oregon sports psychologist
who has consulted with U.S. Olympians, said athletes linked to the
case should not be breathing a sigh of relief.
``There's a lot of athletes who are pretty nervous right now because
Conte's Rolodex has a lot of names on it,''Ungerleider said. ``The
word of the hour is `stay tuned,' because there's more to come.''
San Jose Mercury News
February 2004
"Until
now, when there is a positive test, they go after the athlete,"
said Steven Ungerleider, whose book "Faust's Gold" chronicled
the state sponsored doping of East German athletes a generation
ago."Now there is a very strong message going out we're also
going to look very carefully at coaches and doctors and trainers,
the family around the athlete."Though no athletes were named
Thursday, and at least some of those who testified before the grand
jury were granted limited immunity, Ashcroft did not rule out legal
action against anyone.
Alan Abrahamson
Los Angeles Times, Feb/2004
