A former East German female shot-putter is laying charges against her former doctor after she had to undergo a sex change operation as a result of the steroids she took during training. Heidi Krieger, who was European Champion in 1986, told a German news magazine that her doctor supervised the adminstration of male hormones which resulted in severe physical and psychological problems. Caroline Wyatt reports from Bonn:

Heidi Krieger says she was made to take steroids from the age of sixteen to improve her performance as a shot-putter. Four years later in 1986 she won a Gold Medal at the European Championships.

However, the former athlete says that as a result of taking huge doses of male hormone she also began to develop facial hair, a deep voice and an Adam's apple. When her career ended after the collapse of East Germany, Heidi Krieger says she had little choice but to have a full sex change operation to become a man.

She has now gone into hiding after laying charges against the doctor who administered the drugs. This is one of the most extreme cases to come to light during Germany's criminal investigation into the systematic use of steroids by the Communist regime.