Birgit Dressel (May 4, 1960 in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

– April 10, 1987 in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

) was a

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

heptathlete A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

. Dressel participated in the 1984 Olympic heptathlon, where she ended ninth,Olympic Games, Los Angeles, July-August 1984, Women's heptathlon
/ref> and was fourth in the 1986 European Championships. She died at age 26 due to sudden multiple organ failure, which was at least partly triggered by long-term

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...

abuse.Zum Gedenken an den frühen Tod einer Aktivensprecherin im adh

Death

According to ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...

'' magazine, Dressel had a very laissez-faire attitude about medication: she stocked large amounts of medicines, and when her mother asked her about it, she said: "These are all harmless drugs. All athletes take them. It's really nothing special.""An Athlete Dying Young"
''

''. October 10, 1988. In April 1987, Dressel's condition rapidly declined. She had taken over 100 medications in the last few months, among them

steroids A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...

. After taking additional medication to relieve back pain, her body went into allergic-toxic shock on April 8, causing rapid multiple organ failure. Due to consistent overmedication, her nerves were so damaged that painkillers were useless. After three days of agony, Dressel died on April 10. An autopsy revealed traces of 101 different medications in her body.Vor 20 Jahren: Der "Fall Dressel" erschüttert den Sport
/ref>

Aftermath

According to the German Olympic Sports Association (DOSB), doping was common in the West German athletes of the 1980s. After her death, a 120-page report was filed where Dressel's death has been officially deemed "due to unknown reasons", but German doping analyst

Werner Franke Werner Wilhelm Franke (31 January 1940 – 14 November 2022) was a German biologist and a professor of cell biology, cell and molecular biology at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. He was an anti-doping pioneer in Germany. Life ...

said: According to the German Olympic Sports Association (DOSB), many West German athletes "in fear flushed their medications down the toilet", but soon many reverted to the old ways of doping. "Helpful" was also the general laissez-faire attitude in West German sports with doping, as the DOSB remarked that neither in sports nor in the legal branch there was any drive to further investigate this death; doping was even called "therapeutic" by some.

References

External links

Report about Dressel's death

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dressel, Birgit 1960 births 1987 deaths Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of West Germany German heptathletes Doping cases in athletics Sportspeople from Bremen