6 Most Famous Olympic Scandals of All Time
Posted by: adminThe Olympics are watched around the world and hold so much allure to people everywhere. These scandals however will be remembered for years to come for the controversy that they created.
1.The Nancy Kerrigan Hit: It was the hit heard round the world and many will never forget it. In an effort to launch Tonya Harding to the top spot for the US Figure Skaters team, her ex husband went after Nancy Kerrigan. He hit her with a metal rod in the leg in an effort to disable and injure her. It was a terrible thing to watch, but fortunately this athlete rose to the top and managed to still win in spite of her injury and anguish.
2.Speedskating Disqualification: It happened in the last two winter Olympics and benefitted American Apollo Anton Ono. In both instances, the speed skaters were disqualified for falls or collisions and this benefited Ono by providing him with a medal. Total fluke but heavily debated still to this day, and will likely go down in that manner.
3.Dual Gold in American Pairs Skating: When the judges couldn’t reach a decision, nobody was really sure what to do. Then came the decision that nobody expected and dual gold medals were given to both top teams. This was a big controversy because many didn’t feel it was fair to either team to award dual gold.
4.Ben Johnson Tests Positive: He was such an amazing runner and athlete that many didn’t want to believe it. After he took gold with no problem, he was found to have tested positive for steroid use. This meant a lot of shame and more importantly that he was stripped of his gold on the spot. This benefitted the US but will forever go down as a blemish on this athlete’s record.
5.FloJo Drug Abuse: When she amazed everybody at the Olympics, many felt that there had to be something unnatural in her performance. The rumors of drugs and steroids came about but were dismissed through time. It came out years later that she had in fact used steroids and she was stripped of her medals. She will now go down with this tarnished record rather than for the great performance she provided.
6.Questionable Ages of Chinese Gymnasts: In the 2008 Summer Olympics, many felt that the Chinese gymnastics team wasn’t exactly playing fair. There was much controversy about the age of their female gymnasts as they barely looked old enough to handle the equipment much less compete. This was never completely resolved and is still something debated.
The Olympics are a time full of amazing athleticism, but sometimes they are remembered for much more. These controversies will go down in history and in our memories forever.
Mary Fred writes about searching for sports management colleges online.
