According to Time 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."[4] In April 1987, Dressel's condition rapidly declined. She had taken over 100 medications in the last few months, among them steroids.[2] 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.[2] After three days of agony, Dressel died on April 10. An autopsy revealed traces of 101 different medications in her body.[5][6]
According to the German Olympic Sports Association (DOSB), doping was common in the West German athletes of the 1980s.[3] After her death, a 120-page report was filed where Dressel's death has been officially deemed "due to unknown reasons",[5] but German doping analyst Werner Franke said:
The fatal incident that killed Birgit Dressel was undoubtedly triggered by anabolic doping.[5]
According to the German Olympic Sports Association (DOSB), many West German athletes "in fear flushed their medications down the toilet",[3] but soon many reverted to the old ways of doping.[3] "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.[3]
