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Diego Maradona’s World Cup Shame
The most revered footballer Diego Maradona has hit a premature end to his dreams of adding another world cup title to his cabinet after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing steroid. Maradona, who exhibited the enthusiasm of his younger years in the group stages of the football’s most-watched extravaganza, was due to play for Argentina against Bulgaria later today. His dazzling and dribbling that was displayed against Greece and Nigeria in the group stages have however come to an end after he tested positive for five variants of ephedrine. Ephedrine can both be used as a medication or a stimulant. The drug has been banned because it was found to increase energy as well as alertness. It also helps people to lose weight by speeding up metabolism that results in the burning up of fats.
Steroid hormones have gained popularity among athletes due to their effects. They help the athletes to have high endurance levels by increasing their muscle mass, facilitating the production of more red blood cells thus increasing the oxygen carrying capacity of the athletes, reducing fatigue, helping in faster metabolism thus high energy levels, and increasing alertness (Palermo 387). Apart from Maradona, there are other athletes who have been accused of using drugs to enhance their performance and subsequently banned from sporting activities. There are some steroids that can be used as medication while other are purely used for the purposes of enhancing performance (Palermo 388). Athletes who use drugs are considered as cheats because they gain an unfair advantage over other athletes.
Athletes commonly use anabolic steroids that help to build up some bodily substances that may include muscles or bones. The steroids are given in various forms that include injections, pills, gels, or creams. The anabolic steroids resemble or are linked to testosterone that is produced in the adrenal glands of human beings ((Palermo 389). Despite the availability of anabolic steroids for medical use, athletes are banned from taking such substances unless it is for medical purposes. When taking it as a medication, they have to inform the sports bod that is related to their sport to avoid being accused of using performance enhancing drugs in case of an impromptu drug test. Most athletes are attracted to these drugs because of their ability to increase their athletic performance. The demand for the steroids has made the market for growth hormones to grow tremendously.
Ephedrine and all its variants are considered anabolic steroids. The steroids help in the facilitation of tissue build up by stimulating the receptor molecules that are found in muscle cells (Palermo 391). The receptor molecules then activate some specific genes that help in the production of proteins. The steroids also increase the activity of enzymes that are involved in protein metabolism. This leads to an enhancement of the protein synthesis thus slowing down the degradation of proteins. Athletes who are involved in heavy training or highly physical activities use anabolic steroids because it helps to enhance their physical performance. The steroids are thus more effective in people that are involved in physical exercises.
Diego Maradona’s use of variants of ephedrine thus gives him an advantage to other footballers due to the anti-catabolic effect that instituted by the anabolic steroids. It inhibits the degradation of protein thus leading to an enhanced endurance that is facilitated by increased energy levels. The increased rate of metabolism leads to increased energy levels as well. Maradona, therefore, had to be banned after testing positive for the outlawed performance enhancing drugs.
Works Cited Palermo, Amelia, et al. “Drug-drug interactions and masking effects in sport doping: influence of miconazole administration on the urinary concentrations of endogenous anabolic steroids.” Forensic Toxicology 34.2 (2016): 386-397.
