Weightlifter Gerd Bonk (which in German is a perfectly normal surname so no sniggering at the back, please), on the left, was a silver medal winner in the Montreal Olympics.
He was one of many East German athletes who were pumped full of (often untested) doping substances, in many cases without knowledge of what they were taking. He suffered terrible health consequences and was essentially housebound for the last twenty-five years of his life, becoming an invalid at about age 38 and spending much of his time in hospital. He was a diabetic but was given cortisone, which raises blood sugar levels. As a result, his kidneys and eyesight were severely damaged and he had to have fingers amputated. He was 63. RIP Gerd Bonk.
Nobody you have ever heard of, and I hadn't, either, before I read this small but sensitive and moving obituary (in German):
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/sport/zum-tode-von-gerd-bonk-von-der-ddr-verheizt-von-der-brd-vergessen-1.2184443
Weightlifter Gerd Bonk (which in German is a perfectly normal surname so no sniggering at the back, please), on the left, was a silver medal winner in the Montreal Olympics.
He was one of many East German athletes who were pumped full of (often untested) doping substances, in many cases without knowledge of what they were taking. He suffered terrible health consequences and was essentially housebound for the last twenty-five years of his life, becoming an invalid at about age 38 and spending much of his time in hospital. He was a diabetic but was given cortisone, which raises blood sugar levels. As a result, his kidneys and eyesight were severely damaged and he had to have fingers amputated. He was 63. RIP Gerd Bonk.