Title: Guns and needles: A journey into the heart of South African sport’s steroid and drug culture
Author: Clinton van der Berg
ISBN: 9781776096619
Imprint: Zebra Press
Sport is an integral part of South African society, and as a nation we all experience the emotional ups and downs in supporting our national and provincial teams. It is part of who we are as South Africans. However, every now and then, we are confronted with an uncomfortable headline about a South African sportsman/woman who has been caught doping. Despite these headlines, very little has been written about the steroid and drug culture that exists in our sport. Until now. Sportswriter Clinton van der Berg must be commended on being the first author to provide us with a detailed narrative of the sad, sordid, ugly and complicated world of doping in South African sport.
From the outset, readers will be shocked to learn that South Africa has the record for having the youngest athlete ever to test positive for steroids. Liza de Villiers, a young track athlete, tested positive in 1995 at the age of 14. In true investigative journalist style, Van der Berg traces Liza to her suburban home in Gauteng and tells her story – it is a fascinating and sad tale, and it is eerily similar to that of Kamila Valieva (the 16-year-old Russian ice skater who tested positive at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics) – the adults are never brought to book, while the child is scarred for life. It is a sobering introduction to the book.
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The book reads like a novel at times ...
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Interviews with athletes, administrators and key individuals in the fight against doping in South Africa provide readers with an understanding of the extent of the crisis of doping in our sport. Khalid Galant (CEO of the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS)) features extensively in the book, highlighting the work SAIDS does in policing doping and educating athletes. The reality is that South Africa is an outlier when compared with doping trends internationally, with South African athletes testing positive at between five and ten times higher than international norms.
While the statistics and trends are interesting, it is the narrative of doping cases across numerous sports that is at the core of the book. While newspaper articles have often provided superficial reports on high-profile doping cases, Van der Berg provides detailed information that readers will find interesting and in some cases alarming.
The book reads like a novel at times, as one is taken through high-profile cases such as that of long jumper Luvo Manyonga, Springboks Aphiwe Dyantyi and Chiliboy Ralepelle, and cyclist David George, who admitted guilt and proceeded to support and assist SAIDS in cleaning up the sport of cycling in South Africa.
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It will shock, upset and educate the reader, and for this reason alone it should be read by every person who cares about South African sport.
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South African rugby has always suffered under a stigma of doping, and Van der Berg provides a comprehensive review of the history of doping in rugby and the numerous cases that have been prosecuted by SAIDS. Sadly, the stigma is justified. The professionalisation of rugby and the pursuit of bulk and speed at schoolboy level have resulted in a disconcerting increase in the use of supplements and steroids at this level. Schoolboys testing positive for illegal steroids as they strive to fulfil the dream of becoming a Springbok is a disturbing reality of rugby at this level. Parents and coaches turn a blind eye to this dangerous trend, and the interview on this topic with Dr Jon Patricios (a tireless soldier in the anti-doping crusade) should be compulsory reading for all parents and coaches of young athletes. The ease with which athletes (of any age) are able to source illegal steroids is alarming, and Van der Berg takes the reader into the dark world of the steroid trade.
The challenge of supplementation and the fact that the supplement industry is unregulated present many risks for athletes. The most common defence of an athlete who tests positive for a prohibited substance is that the positive test was a result of supplement use – and the possibility that the supplement was contaminated with the prohibited substance. The story of swimmer Roland Schoeman illustrates this perfectly. This complex aspect of doping is covered extensively in the book and is again a warning to all athletes to exercise extreme caution when purchasing supplements.
Van der Berg is a well-known journalist in the sport of boxing, so it is not surprising that this sport enjoys comprehensive coverage in the book. The lack of governance and scruples in boxing has led to an almost unbelievable tale of doping offences across the sport – with boxers escaping punishment and reappearing again in bouts a few weeks after testing positive. The sport does itself no favours.
The world of doping in sport is complicated, with athletes being subjected to a Prohibited List of substances (which is updated each year), and having to comply with an anti-doping code under the auspices of SAIDS and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Compliance with the code is now a critical element of an athlete’s life. I do think it would have been useful for readers, had the author included a chapter on the key provisions of the anti-doping code (for example, there are 11 offences under the code), the testing process that athletes are subjected to and the hearing process that athletes must navigate if they test positive. It is a complex element of sport about which people are unaware.
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The adults are never brought to book, while the child is scarred for life.
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Guns and needles is an important book in the understanding of doping in South African sport. It will shock, upset and educate the reader, and for this reason alone it should be read by every person who cares about South African sport. Doping issues must move from the shadows into mainstream discussion – and this book will assist in that happening.