South Africa’s schoolboy rugby doping problem

Mario Tawfik Sports Editor, The Pawprint

Salmon van Huyssteen is a 16 years old rugby player who has been taking steroids. The young player wanted to fill out his frame fast but instead of steaks, sausages or some other protein hit from over the counter, he opted for the “Deca 300.” It has been sent by his body-building cousin and injected by his mother. 

When a sample of the player’s blood was given to the anti-doping officers at the elite schoolboy athletes tournament, Craven Week, it showed traces of the steroid nandrolone, two times over the World Anti-Doping Authority’s permitted limit. According to the South African Institute of Drug-Free Sports (Saids) latest annual report, six minors appear to be on the list. 

The young athletes use such drugs in order to have an edge in a very competitive sports industry. As the steroids give them power, strength and endurance, the teens are unaware of the side effects of these drugs.