Top 30 Times Olympic Athletes Cheated
Nothing violates the spirit of the Olympics more than cheating. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most shocking times athletes broke the rules at the Summer and Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games.
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00:00Yeah, it's unbelievable how they could do this.
00:02Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most shocking times
00:07athletes broke the rules at the Summer and Winter Olympics and the Paralympic Games.
00:11We'll explore the scandal they were involved with and the consequences they faced.
00:15There wasn't any test. That was exactly the problem.
00:20Number 30. The U.S. Men's 4x400m Team, Sydney 2000.
00:25At the Summer Games in 2000, the U.S. team knocked it out of the park by securing gold
00:30in the men's 4x400m relay. However, it was soon discovered that Jerome Young had tested positive
00:36for EPO, a.k.a. erythropoietin.
00:40It's huge, literally monstrous, with studies showing it boosting performance by 3 to 6%.
00:45Immediately, the team was stripped of their gold.
00:47Disqualified!
00:49However, after an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport, or CAS,
00:53stated that since Young didn't run in the final, his medal would be stripped,
00:57but the rest of the team could keep theirs. That lasted until 2008,
01:01when Antonio Pettigrew was discovered to have used substances between 1997 and 2003.
01:07The U.S. team was disqualified, with Nigeria taking their spot instead.
01:12Number 29. Kamila Valieva, Beijing 2022.
01:16At the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Russian Olympic Committee had 15-year-old Kamila
01:21Valieva on their figure skating team.
01:23She now owns the highest scores ever recorded in the short program, the free skate.
01:29She was a prodigy after breaking several world records in her relatively short career.
01:34But soon after winning gold in their team event, news came out that Valieva had tested positive
01:39for the banned heart medication trimetazidine, which is used by athletes to increase endurance.
01:44It changes the way that the heart muscle metabolizes or gains its energy.
01:52During the investigation, the medal ceremony was delayed, and the CAS ruled in favor of
01:57Valieva competing in the women's single event in part due to her age, where she came in fourth.
02:02In 2024, the CAS deemed Valieva had broken the rules. They disqualified all her results
02:08from Beijing 2022 and banned her from competition for four years.
02:13We need to feel sympathy, however, for a generation of clean athletes
02:18who have been repeatedly defrauded, and for Kamila Valieva,
02:22a 15-year-old pawn in an evil dystopian system.
02:2628. Mikhail Aloyan, Rio 2016
02:30Also known as Misha Aloyan before changing his name,
02:33the Russian boxer was a specialist in the flyweight division. After all, he had won
02:38two golds at the IBA World Boxing Championships in 2011 and 2013.
02:43Aloyan of Russia is the world champion!
02:47In between those events, Aloyan competed at London 2012 and secured a bronze. At Rio 2016,
02:54he got to the final of the men's flyweight. However, Aloyan fell to Uzbekistan's Shakhobudin
02:59Zoyerov, getting himself a silver medal. Shortly after, he was found to have tested positive for
03:05the banned stimulant 2-amino-heptane, resulting in him being stripped of the medal. In 2017,
03:10Cass rejected Aloyan's appeal.
03:12Denied. Denied.
03:14He spent the rest of his career boxing professionally before retiring in 2022.
03:1927. Yenil Pershin, London 1948
03:23At the 1948 Summer Games, Yenil Pershin competed in the equestrian events,
03:28picking up a gold in the team dressage. But then, in 1949, the truth came out.
03:33I have a confession to make.
03:35At the time, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports had a rule that only
03:39commissioned army officers could participate. Weeks before the 1948 event, the Swedish star
03:45was temporarily promoted to lieutenant specifically so he could compete. Afterward, Pershin was demoted
03:51back to his sergeant ranking.
03:52Demoted.
03:53He was said to be in violation of the rules and disqualified. Only a few months later, however,
03:59the strict rule was changed to allow more people to take part in the future.
04:0426. Crystal Cox, Athens 2004
04:07While she didn't compete in the final of the women's 4x400 meters relay in Athens 2004,
04:13Crystal Cox helped get the United States team there after racing in their heat.
04:17Instead, Dee Dee Trotter took her place as the team went on to win gold.
04:21It's hard as you can run as fast as you can run. You make yourself around that track.
04:25Afterward, Cox pivoted her career and signed up to be on Survivor.
04:29Crystal, good to talk to you.
04:31Good morning.
04:32In 2010, she admitted that between 2001 and 2004, she was using anabolic steroids to compete.
04:39The runner's records during that period were scrubbed,
04:42and she was banned from competition for four years.
04:45But there was the question of what to do with the relay team.
04:48In 2013, the International Olympic Committee, or IOC, and World Athletics let the women keep
04:54their golds, except for Cox.
04:56Good luck on your next endeavor.
04:58Okay, thank you.
04:5925. Nijat Rahimov, Rio 2016
05:03At the 2015 World Weightlifting Championships, Nijat Rahimov had a lot to prove after returning
05:09from a two-year suspension due to a failed substance test.
05:13Time for redemption.
05:15And he nailed it by taking gold in the 77-kilogram division.
05:18At the 2016 Olympics, Rahimov was set to represent Kazakhstan to replicate his
05:23performance once more in the same lifting class.
05:26Amazingly, not only did he take the gold, but he also smashed the world record.
05:31You've just set a new world record.
05:33After his celebratory dance, however, the legitimacy of his efforts was called into
05:37question. In 2021, it was announced that Rahimov had been charged with cheating after swapping his
05:43urine samples four times. In 2022, he was stripped of his gold and the world record,
05:49and subsequently banned for eight years.
05:51Eight years.
05:53Eight years.
05:5424. Jim Thorpe, Stockholm 1912
05:57We may never see an athlete as talented as Thorpe.
06:00Say the name Jim Thorpe, and many would argue you're talking about the greatest
06:05American athlete ever.
06:07Whether it was American football, basketball, baseball, or athletics,
06:10the Native American member of the Sac and Fox Nation was a force to be reckoned with.
06:15Famously, Thorpe competed at the 1912 Olympics in mismatched shoes after his were stolen.
06:21Regardless, he took gold in the men's pentathlon and decathlon. In 1913, it was discovered that
06:27Thorpe had received compensation for playing semi-professional baseball,
06:30which broke Olympic rules on amateurism at the time.
06:33Controversially, the IOC stripped him of his wins.
06:37"...long considered one of the most controversial decisions in sports."
06:40In 1982, a campaign drove the IOC to reinstate Thorpe's wins posthumously,
06:45but he had to share it with the silver medalists. In 2022,
06:49the IOC voted, and Thorpe was given his legacy back as the sole winner.
06:5523. Cross-Country Cheating, Salt Lake City 2002
06:59Oh boy. The 2002 Winter Olympics for cross-country skiing was a mess with cheating.
07:03Cheating?
07:05Starting with the women, Russia's Olga Danilova and Larissa Lazutina,
07:09who had collected the top prize in the world championships many times and had a host of
07:13medals from other Olympics. However, Danilova and Lazutina tested positive for darbopoetin,
07:19a substance used to increase red blood cell production.
07:22Your red blood cell count, it's high.
07:24Both were disqualified and banned for two years. For the men, Johan Mulek,
07:29who was representing Spain after having been part of Germany before, took gold three times.
07:34But after also testing positive for darbopoetin, his results were nullified too.
07:4022. Tunisian Modern Pentathlon Team, Rome 1960
07:45Debuting in the 1960 Summer Olympics,
07:48Tunisia probably had hopes of marking the occasion with some gold.
07:51That's gold, Jeremy. Gold!
07:53But that hope was severely dented after the mass of misfortune during the Modern
07:57Pentathlon men's team event, which featured Lactar Bouzid, Habib Bin Azabi, and Ahmed Enachi.
08:03During the swimming event, one athlete needed assistance in the water. Then,
08:08one rider was thrown from their horse in the equestrian section.
08:11But they had a secret weapon for fencing.
08:13En garde!
08:14The story goes that one of them was an especially good swordsman,
08:17so they hoped the mask would disguise the fact they sent him out for each bout rather
08:22than switching between athletes. Obviously, that didn't work, and the Tunisian team was
08:26left in last place.
08:2821. Lance Armstrong, Sydney 2000
08:31In his prime, nobody could beat Armstrong when it came to cycling.
08:35I like to win. But more than anything, I can't stand the idea of losing,
08:39because to me, that equals death.
08:41He was a machine who swept up seven consecutive Tour de France wins from 1999 to 2005.
08:47In between that time, the U.S. cyclist competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics,
08:51securing himself a bronze in the men's road time trial. However,
08:55there were rumors Armstrong's success wasn't solely down to talent.
08:59In 2012, the United States Anti-Doping Agency formally charged the Livestrong
09:03creator with being involved in a rampant doping and trafficking program.
09:07I know what it took to win those tours. Okay, it was a little more detailed than
09:13we were told, or you guys were told.
09:15Armstrong was banned from competitive sport for life,
09:18and stripped of all results after August 1998. In 2013,
09:22he shockingly confirmed it was true during an interview with Oprah Winfrey.
09:27I had it, and then it just, things got too big.
09:3220. Spiridon Balokas, Greece, 1896
09:37During the first-ever international Olympics at the end of the 19th century,
09:41Greek athlete Spiridon Balokas didn't exactly welcome the incoming countries in a sportsman-like
09:46fashion. For the men's marathon, Balokas came in third place at just over three hours,
09:51and just five seconds ahead of the Hungarian Gyula Kellner in fourth place. However,
09:56Kellner called out Balokas for having traveled part of the distance in a carriage.
10:00The formalized complaint was confirmed, and Balokas was retroactively disqualified,
10:05preventing a Greek sweep in the event.
10:0819. Hans Gunnar Liljenvall, Mexico City, 1968
10:13Nowadays, it seems like every time an Olympic athlete gets in trouble,
10:17doping has something to do with it. That was unheard of, however, prior to the 1968 games.
10:23Indeed, the summer edition was the first instance that doping tests were practiced.
10:28And wouldn't you know it, a disqualification followed. But maybe not for the reason you'd
10:33think. The Swedish team placed third in the pistol shooting event, but later had to return
10:38their bronze medals due to teammate Hans Gunnar Liljenvall drinking two beers prior to the event.
10:43This was heretofore a common way to calm nerves.
10:46Though alcohol may seem like the exact opposite of a dangerous performance-enhancing drug,
10:50given that it dulls the senses, clouds judgment, and is otherwise pretty safe in moderation,
10:55in the right quantities, there was, and still is, a popular idea that it gives one an advantage.
11:00Liljenvall and the rest of his team may have needed to pound down a couple more after hearing
11:03the news. 18. Cameron Van Der Berg, London, 2012
11:12Setting a world record at the Olympics can often be the cherry on top of the sundae that is winning
11:17gold. However, sometimes records ought to be displayed with a little asterisk next to them.
11:25At the 2012 Games in London, South African swimmer Cameron Van Der Berg posted a new record for 100
11:33meter breaststroke at just over 58 seconds. However, it's likely his time would have been
11:38higher had he not thrown some extra dolphin kicks in there. The rules permit for one kick,
11:43whereas underwater footage showed Van Der Berg performing three. Van Der Berg kept his medal,
11:48however, and justified the action by saying otherwise, quote,
11:52You are falling behind or giving yourself a disadvantage. Well, at least he was honest.
11:5817. Andrea Raducan, Sydney, 2000
12:01Don't you just hate it when you cheat and aren't even aware of it? Well, that's exactly what
12:05happened to Andrea Raducan at the Sydney Games in 2000. The Romanian Raducan led her team to a gold
12:10medal and won a gold herself in the all-around competition, but was later stripped of the latter.
12:16Subsequent tests showed Raducan tested positive for the banned substance pseudoephedrine,
12:20which her team maintained came from the cold medicine prescribed by the team physician.
12:25Raducan was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the disqualification was never rescinded. Raducan
12:29went on to claim that, if anything, the medicine only hurt her performance and didn't help her.
12:3516. Bertil Sandström, Los Angeles, 1932
12:40Honing your physicality to compete on the Olympic stage is a feat all its own,
12:44but controlling an animal is another thing entirely. Swedish horse rider Bertil Sandström
12:49had continued success at the Olympics, earning silver medals in 1920, 1924, and 1932 for various
12:57dressage events. However, the last of those competitions also saw Sandström disqualified
13:02in the individual event. Though he was lined up to earn his fourth silver medal, his placement
13:07was revoked with the revelation that he'd been using illegal clicking sounds to manipulate his
13:12horse, thus giving him an unfair advantage. 15. East Germany State Doping, Montreal,
13:191976 This one happened back when there was an East
13:23Germany around to compete. During the 1976 Summer Games in Montreal, the bisected country surprised
13:29everyone when it came away with the second most gold medals at an even 40, with the women's
13:34swimming team alone nabbing a whopping 11. Such performances would make any nation proud. However,
13:40it was later revealed that scores of athletes across sports were being administered performance-enhancing
13:45substances. Apparently, this practice was encouraged and covered up for decades,
14:04with East German officials going so far as to dump the leftover drugs into the St. Lawrence River.
14:1014. Tony André Hansen, Beijing, 2008 Norwegian Tony André Hansen had reason to complain
14:20when his horse Camiro was found to have the banned substance capsaicin in his urine.
14:25Hansen was then prohibited from competing in the individual jumping event, and the entire Norwegian
14:30team was subsequently stripped of their bronze medals in team jumping after another test proved
14:35positive. Hansen appealed twice to have the motion overturned, but was rejected both times.
14:41Camiro too was suspended for a period of time, but we don't want to put too much blame on him
14:45considering he's a horse. 13. Michelle Smith, Atlanta, 1996
14:56At the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Irish swimmer Michelle Smith took home four gold medals
15:09and one bronze. Though she was never stripped of her medals, an investigation two years later by
15:14the International Swimming Federation saw her banned for four years for tampering with her
15:19urine sample with alcohol. Smith had reportedly tested positive for androstenedione, a precursor
15:25for testosterone, which itself wasn't even outlawed by the Olympic Committee until 1997.
15:30Smith made an appeal but the ban was upheld, virtually ending her competitive swimming career
15:35at age 28. 12. Marion Jones, Sydney, 2000
15:41In one of the biggest doping scandals in Olympics history, US track and field star Marion Jones
15:46eventually saw the forfeiture of the three gold medals and two bronze she won at the 2000 Games
15:51in Sydney. In fact, allegations against Jones for doping go all the way back to her high school
15:57years in the early 1990s. Jones repeatedly denied these claims, and despite passing all prior drug
16:04tests, allegations swirled again when her ex-husband, shot putter C.J. Hunter, who'd also
16:09admitted to using steroids, testified that Jones had been using EPO for years before and after the
16:15Sydney Games. Jones finally admitted to lying under oath about it, and even served six months in prison
16:21over the ordeal. 11. Dong Fengxiao, Sydney, 2000
16:34Though this scandal certainly can't take away from Dong Fengxiao's athletic prowess,
16:38it did take away her bronze medal. After helping the Chinese gymnastics team place third,
16:44supposedly at the age of 17, Dong later registered as a technical official at the 2008 Games.
16:50The trouble was, her new certification's birth year clashed with the one from 2000,
16:55meaning she was actually 14 in Sydney, and two years too young to compete on the senior team.
17:01Fans have since been critical of underage athletes being pushed,
17:04as Dong's bone necrosis forced her to retire at just 15.
17:0910. Emperor Nero, Greece, 67 A.D. We guess if you're the literal emperor of Rome,
17:15you can pretty much get away with anything, but history will still judge you when you're gone.
17:20Way, way, way back in 67 A.D., Emperor Nero participated in the Olympic Games,
17:27only his performance was very unusual. After artistic sensibilities were incorporated into
17:32the athletic events, Nero did everything from singing to theater. Unsurprisingly,
17:38Nero won every event he participated in, including a chariot race that he quit after
17:44being thrown on the grounds that he would have won. Growing up, we all had that friend
17:52that we'd let win no matter what, and it sounds like Nero was that to all of Rome.
17:589. Tonya Harding, Lillehammer, 1994 I mean, what kind of friggin' person
18:04bashes in their friend's knee? Who would do that to a friend?
18:09Here's a story so dramatic, it inspired a film. Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were on the same
18:15team, but still had an intense rivalry. Before the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships,
18:21Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by Shane Stant. He was contracted to break her knee by Sean Eckhart,
18:30an associate of Harding's then-husband, Jeff Gillooly. The goal was to make sure Nancy
18:35couldn't compete so Tonya could claim gold at the championships and at the Winter Olympics.
18:51Nancy recovered and won silver in the Winter Olympics, while Tonya placed eighth. Harding
18:56later took a plea bargain by admitting to obstruction of justice, and subsequently
19:00received a lifetime ban from the United States Figure Skating Association.
19:058. Ben Johnson, Seoul, 1988
19:16Ben Johnson was a star in the 1980s, winning medals, breaking records,
19:21and establishing himself as Canada's premier sprinter. Johnson then won the 100-meter dash
19:27at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, but unfortunately there was a dark truth behind his success.
19:32Despite denying rumors for years that he was on performance-enhancing drugs,
19:36his urine tested positive, which he later confirmed. It was claimed that many athletes
19:47were using anabolic steroids at the time, and that Johnson just happened to get caught. He
19:52was stripped of his medals and world record, with many home supporters still wondering why he did
19:58it. 7. The Chinese, South Korean, and Indonesian badminton teams, London 2012
20:08Not giving your all during an Olympic competition is actually against the rules,
20:13as we found out at the 2012 London Olympics. During the group stages of the women's badminton
20:19doubles tournament, the event became surrounded with controversy as multiple teams were accused
20:24of not using their best efforts. Actually, they allegedly started to purposefully lose matches
20:45so they could get easier matchups for the knockout stage. It got ridiculous,
21:07with teams making basic errors that were uncommon in professional sport.
21:11The three teams were ejected from the competition for, quote,
21:15conducting themselves in a way that was abusive and detrimental to the sport.
21:21One could argue the tournament structure is more at fault, but that doesn't change what
21:26the rules were at the time. 6. The East Germany luge squad,
21:30Grenoble 1968 Named at the time as the world's
21:35most perfect female luger, East Germany's Enderlein was a favorite to win at the 1968
21:40Winter Olympics in France. And she did win first place with surprising speed,
21:45as did her East German teammates, who won second and fourth place. But something seemed off.
21:51An event supervisor tested the luge's steel blades with snow, which supposedly, quote,
21:56hissed and vaporized. The officials concluded that the sleigh had been heated to melt the
22:00track's ice and increase speed. The team was disqualified, but the incident has remained
22:05contentious, with some home officials claiming Enderlein's innocence, with rumors of intrigue
22:10behind the allegations. 5. Boris Onyshenko, Montreal 1976
22:16A world-class pentathlete, you'd think that the USSR's Boris Onyshenko might have been able to
22:22win through skill alone. But it seems Boris wanted to be certain of victory. During his fencing bout
22:28against the British contender Jim Fox, the Brits noticed something was off. Boris was getting
22:34points without even touching his opponent. In electric épée fencing, a point is registered when
22:39the tip of the weapon is depressed with enough force to complete an electric circuit. Beneath
22:44a layer of leather, there was a button leading to a wiring system. Press the button, and the
22:50sensors in the arena were told there'd been a hit. Onyshenko had figured out a way to hit
22:55his opponents without touching them. However, his modified weapon had a switch on the blade
23:01that would complete the circuit without making contact, meaning he just had to make it look
23:05convincing. Once he was found out, his peers shunned him, he was stripped of his awards,
23:10and he was given a lifetime ban. 4. Madeline de Jesus, Los Angeles 1984
23:17Puerto Rican athlete Madeline de Jesus was competing in multiple events, but pulled her
23:22hamstring during the long jump. So instead of sacrificing the opportunity to compete in the
23:274x400 relay, she came up with something out of a movie plot. Margaret, her identical twin sister
23:33who was also an athlete, would swap outfits with her, allowing Margaret to compete in her place,
23:39and no one would be the wiser. And it worked, until Madeline's coach found out, and instead
23:44of going along with the ruse, he pulled the entire team from the event. Madeline and Margaret were
23:49banned from future international competitions, and their unknowing teammates also received a
23:54suspension. 3. Fred Lors, St. Louis 1904
23:59During the 1904 Summer Olympics, Frederick Lors was competing in the marathon. He ran the first
24:05nine miles but stopped from exhaustion. That's when his manager decided to give him a helping
24:10hand. Fred was driven the next 11 miles of the marathon, after which he continued on foot into
24:16the Olympic Stadium and was greeted as the winner. Fred obviously knew this was pure cheating,
24:22but went along with it anyway, purportedly as a joke. He later confessed what had happened,
24:27and another runner was awarded the medal. 2. Russia's Doping Scandal, Sochi 2014
24:42As we learned from the East Germans back in 1976, it's one thing for an athlete to cheat,
24:48but for an entire country to allegedly sponsor the cheating is quite another.
24:53After the 2014 Winter Olympics, a Russian state-sponsored doping scandal came to light,
24:58with many of their athletes actively participating in taking performance-enhancing drugs,
25:03and attempting to hide that fact from screenings.
25:19Once discovered, Russia as a whole was temporarily banned from future Olympic Games.
25:36Though some of the disqualifications were nullified and some medals returned,
25:41the fallout from the investigation was, needless to say, extensive.
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26:011. The Spanish Paralympics Basketball Team, Sydney 2000
26:15During the 2000 Sydney Paralympics, there was more concern for doping than finding out if
26:21athletes were actually legitimate Paralympians. So Fernando Martín Vicente, the head of the
26:26Spanish Federation of Sportspeople with Intellectual Disabilities, had an idea.
26:31A terrible idea. The team recruited players who faked having an intellectual disability.
26:36They went on to win gold by a huge margin, and Spain celebrated. But one of the players
26:42was an investigative journalist. Carlos Ribagorda blew the whistle on the entire scheme.
26:48The team was disqualified, and Vicente resigned.
26:51Which sport would you like to see in the Winter or Summer Olympic Games?
26:55Esports? Darts? Dodgeball? Or something else? Let us know below.
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