How important has doping been to the performances of Soviet athletes?
According to a report delivered Tuesday at the opening of the Third Permanent World Conference on Anti-Doping in Sport, organized by a panel established by the International Olympic Committee, 44 percent of the top sports figures in the Soviet Union consider the use of drugs essential."This reflects the extensive use that has gone on for many years in Eastern Europe," said Norwegian Hans B. Skaset, co-chairman of the 48-nation conference in the west coast city of Bergen.
Participants at the three-day congress that drew nearly 250 representatives of sports associations, Olympic committees and governments included Olympic champions Sebastian Coe and Edwin Moses.
Preliminary results from the 1990-91 Soviet study said most banned substances appear to be sold on the black market, since 72 percent of the anabolic steroids that athletes said they used are not made or legally sold in the Soviet Union.
The report said 80 percent learned about steroids from older athletes or coaches, not doctors.
Skaset said other countries would probably not report "such extreme numbers" as in the Soviet report. It said 44 percent of the Soviet Union's 240 top athletes considered doping "essential and even inevitable" for winning, and that 36 percent assumed rivals use drugs or hormones to boost performance.
Also, according to the report, 46 percent of the Soviets believed positive doping tests could be avoided by using substances in training and cutting them off prior to competitions.
"Such a type of a sportsman in this country (the Soviet Union) doesn't even feel guilty, supposing that he or she acts as others in modern sports," said Vasily Gromyko, head of the Soviet delegation. He urged more tests during training.
The congress also seeks ways to combat drug abuse through education and international cooperation, but planned to make no binding decisions.