Krieger was systematically doped with steroids from the age of 16 onward. According to
Werner Franke and Brigitte Berendonk's 1991 book,
Doping: From Research to Deceit, Krieger took almost 2,600 milligrams of steroids in 1986; nearly 1,000 milligrams more than
Ben Johnson took during the
1988 Summer Olympics.
As early as the age of 18, Krieger began developing visibly male characteristics. Eventually, years of doping left him with many masculine traits. By 1997, at the age of 31, Krieger underwent
sex reassignment surgery and changed his name to Andreas.
[3] Krieger had "felt out of place and longed in some vague way to be a boy", and said in a 2004 interview in
The New York Times that he was "glad that he became a man". However, he felt that receiving hormones without his consent deprived him of the right to "find out for myself which sex I wanted to be."
[3] Krieger's sex change operation dominated Germany's news headlines and focused widespread attention on the legacy of
doping in East Germany, leading other former athletes to speak out in public for the first time.
Krieger gave evidence at the trial of
Manfred Ewald, leader of the East German sports programme and president of the East German Olympic committee and
Manfred Höppner, East German medical director in Berlin in 2000. Both Ewald and Höppner were convicted of accessory to the "intentional bodily harm of athletes, including minors".
Krieger was forced to retire in part due to experiencing severe pain from lifting massive amounts of weight while on steroids. Even today, he has severe pain in his hips and thighs, and can only withstand mild exertion.
The Heidi Krieger Medal (
German:
Heidi-Krieger-Medaille), named after Krieger, is now awarded annually to Germans who combat doping. Krieger's gold medal from 1986 forms part of the trophy.
