Sport drug 'turned woman into man'

Prosecutors in Germany are examining allegations that a former East German athlete had to undergo a sex change operation as a result of the steroids she was given during training in the 1980s.

The athlete, formerly known as Heidi Krieger, who was European shot-put champion in 1986, says performance enhancing drugs led her to develop facial hair and other male characteristics.

She says when her career ended she had little choice but to have a full sex change and earlier this year had two operations to become a man.

Krieger, whose first name is now Andries, laid charges against the doctor who treated her and has now gone into hiding.

German justice officials say nearly two hundred former coaches and other officials from the old Communist government are being investigated over the systematic abuse of steroids in athletics.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service