Cheating and the Olympics go hand in hand always. There are numerous famous Olympic cheaters who were defamed to bits owing to their antics.
Olympics have numerous traditions and one of the most everlasting is cheating. Athletes, cyclists, and players ignore the rules to improve their performance in the competitions. Some of the most famous Olympic cheaters are listed below.
Olympic Cheaters: Top Cheating Scandals
1. Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson in1998 won the gold medal in Olympics the race, on the consecutive day he was found positive for an anabolic steroid and his gold medal was removed. It was then awarded to American Carl Lewis.
2. Madeline and Margaret de Jesus
Madeline and Margaret are twin sisters; both were competing in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Madeline got hurt while performing in the long jump, she sent her twin sister to perform 400 meters relay. Once the coach of the Olympics came to know he disqualified the entire team from the Olympics.
3. Fred Lorz
In the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis Lorz, Fred won the marathon. He had not run the nine miles run and claimed exhaustion and took a lift from a coach in a car for eleven miles. Only the last few miles run were completed by him. Spectators complained against him and his Title was given to American Thomas Hicks, who had also cheated with consuming drugs.
4. Spiridon Belokas
In 1896 Spiridon got the third position in a race in the Olympic marathon. Later it was discovered that he had not completed the race and by cheating, he qualified for the third position. He was disqualified and the host country won the top three prizes in the race.
5. Marion Jones
American sprinter and long jumper defamed in 2000 Sydney Games when she won three gold and two bronze medals. She was caught drug positive because of her husband. Her husband tested positive for steroids. She strictly denied the same and she agreed in in2007 for taking steroids and her all medals were stripped.
6. Boris Onischenko
In 1976 Boris, an Ukranian cheated with Opponent Jim Fox. He modified his weapon with a click that tallied up his score without touching it and later exposed to cheating and disqualified from the game.
7. Tunisian modern pentathlon team
In the 1960 Rome Games, the modern pentathlon team got a poor start. To start off each member fell down from the horses. Behind them, athletes almost started drowning and disqualification took place from the shooting section. During the fencing competition, they simply sent their best fencer back hoping the fencing mask hide their identity, and the whole team was thrown out.
8. East German Female Swimmers
In the ’70s and 80’s the women swimmers came out with flying colors in the Olympics. Steroid use was doubted as their voices changed and the muscled frame was so exceptional. They denied it for long, but in 1991 they accepted that they consumed performance-enhancing drugs.
9. Dora Rajen
In the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Dora Ratjen won the record of women’s high jump. There was a minute problem as Dora was a Neutral Gender. He claimed that as per Nazis order to pose as women he did the same for three years. He lived as a female athlete.