Never will I forget my stay at the Olympic Village in Seoul, South Korea, before competing in the 1988 Olympic decathlon. I'd been dreaming about that moment my whole life and had trained for the previous 16 years. Strolling the streets of this mini-city with athletes from all over the world, I tried to take everything in, to feel the experience to the fullest. I knew this would be my first and last Olympics.

My euphoria was interrupted when another athlete casually told me that most of the athletes I would be competing against had more than likely used steroids to get to the Olympics—stopping their use long enough before the Games to pass the drug test while still benefiting from the effects.

Knowing that athletes used steroids was nothing new. It's hard to be around sports at that level without being exposed to athletes doing whatever it takes to improve—including steroid use. But this time it felt personal.

All of the sudden, I was upset. After all, at 5'8" and 160 pounds, ...