What was the name of the doping program associated with steroids that looked like vitamins and was used by the East German swim team?

• A. BALCO
• B. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
• C. East German doping program
• D. Mitchell Report

Answer: (C)

State-sponsored doping in sports used by East Germany is the focus here. During the Cold War, East German authorities ran a systematic program to boost medal counts by providing anabolic steroids to athletes, including swimmers, and sometimes hiding them as vitamin-like pills to avoid scrutiny. This organized effort, carried out across various sports, illustrates how a government used specialized medical and coaching networks to distribute performance enhancers. The label that best fits this scenario is the East German doping program, because it directly describes a state-backed initiative aimed at improving athletic performance through controlled use of steroids disguised as vitamins. Other options point to different contexts: BALCO is a later U.S. doping scandal, WADA is the global anti-doping body, and the Mitchell Report focuses on steroid use in Major League Baseball.