BONN, Sept 8: Heike Drechsler, the long jump silver medallist at the recent World Athletics Championships and 10 other members of the German team in Tokyo all took performance-enhancing drugs in their youth, reports AFP.

The magazine Der Spiegel reveals fn its latest Issue, to be published on Monday, the names of some of the hundreds of former East German athletes who were allegedly given steroids to improve their performances.

The Information comes , from a forthcoming book by former East German javelin champion Brigitte Bcrcndonk and her West German husband Werner Franke, a molecular biologist.

Among, the 261 athletes named, the couple claim that Dreschler took "A particularly strong annual dosage of 935 mg of oral-turtnabol from the age of 17.

The other members of the Tokyo squad who are exposed in the book are hurdlers Sabine Busch and Cornelia Oschkenat, 4OOm runner Jens Carlowitz, sprinter Steffen Brlngmann, decathlete Christian Schenk, heptathlete. Heike Tlschlcr, long Jumper Helga Radtke, discus throwers Jurgen Schult and Martina Hellmann and Javelin star Petra Meier.

Three other athletes, who were selected but forced to miss the championships through injury, arc also on the list. They are 4Q0m star Thomas Schonlebe, shot put hero Ulf Timmermann and 100m runner Frank Emmelmann.