Stripped Away Olympic Medals – Humiliating Doping Scandals

In the history of the Olympics, we have seen many examples of the official results of competitions not being the same as what we see on the field. There are those who had their medals taken away because they drank alcohol, those who thought the competition was match-fixed and refused to accept bronze, those who fell victim to new rules, but most of all, those who lost them due to doping. Here is a list of stripped-away Olympic medals!

Ben Johnson – The Unofficial King of Dope

Although he was born in Jamaica in 1961, he represented Canada at the Olympic Games because he emigrated there in the 1970s. There he met Charlie Francis, his later coach, with whom the sprinter won two silvers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, then added two bronzes to his medal collection at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics before reaching the top in Edinburgh in 1986. 

During his career, Johnson had huge fights with Carl Lewis, a track and field athlete. Many of Lewis’s records were broken by the Canadian sprinter, after which the American often claimed that many of the runners, like Johnson, used drugs and dope. He was not wrong. At the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Lewis was faster than his Canadian opponent in the first 100 meters, but Johnson beat him eventually. 

However, the joy only lasted for three days. As it turned out, Johnson used anabolic steroids, so he had a stripped-away Olympic medal, a gold one at that, and they suspended him from racing. He returned once more in 1991 but failed the dope test again. Do you think there will be dope scandals in the next Olympics in 2024? Place special bets at 22Bet Sportsbook!

Olga Medvedtseva and Her Stripped-Away Olympic Medal

The Russian biathlete, born in 1975, triumphed in many World Cups during her career and returned home from Oslo with a gold medal from the 2000 World Cup. After she won the competition held in Pokljuka a year later, she was also able to triumph in the 10 km pursuit race at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. The next Olympics is a year away, but you can check out the odds at 22Bet Sportsbook!

At the 2006 Turin Games, she finished as a silver medalist in the 15-kilometer individual race, but later that year, her test was positive for mephedrone, a medicine she used for an ankle injury included the drug. So she was subsequently disqualified, banned for two years, and they stripped away her Olympic medal. However, after the ban Olga reached the top again in the 4×6 kilometer race at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Andreea Raducan Gymnast

Already at the age of 12, Andreea impressed everyone with her splendid gymnastic skills. At the 1998 Junior European Championships, she won silver with the Romanian national team a year later. In addition to the silver in the team category, she collected two individual wins at the Tianjin World Championships before the 2000 Olympics. 

She won the Olympic title and a silver medal in Sydney when she turned 17 in the last days of the competition, but she tested positive for doping, and they found pseudoephedrine in her system. His coach claimed that the Nurofen she received for her cold contained these prohibited substances. Moreover, according to Raducan, the medicine did not help her just the opposite. 

She felt light-headed and dizzy, but even though they appealed against the decision, they took away her titles anyway. However, only the team doctor was banned, so Raducan was able to compete at the World Cup in Ghent a year later and won three golds and two bronzes. Currently, she works as a model and sports reporter, among other things.

Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall Stripped-Away Olympic Medal

Although Liljenwall, born in 1941, was not among the elite athletes as an individual and was more outstanding as a team member, he won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics. At the 1968 Games, although the Swedish pentathlon national team overtook many teams and finished on the podium, they had to return their medals shortly after because they found alcohol in Liljenwall’s system. 

He was not drunk but drank two beers to be calmer during the shooting. The question is why were the 14 other athletes not disqualified for using sedatives, and why did they not stip away their Olympic medals? Check out the scandal at online sportsbook sites in the UK!

Rashid Ramzi – Running Toward Trouble

The Moroccan-born runner from Bahrain, who specialized in 800 and 1500 meters, made history at the 2005 World Championships when he won these two events. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he was the first to cross the finish line at the end of the 1,500-meter run.

However, he got stripped away of his Olympic medal because they found CERA in his system, and got banned for two years. However, he was not among the biggest ban scandals in sports history!

Marion Jones’s Double Trouble

Jones, born in 1975, won both the 100 meters and the 4×100 meter relay race at the 1997 World Championships in Athens and two years later in Seville too. As the celebrated star of the 2000 Olympics, Jones competed in the 100m, 200m, 4x100m, and 4x400m relay races and the long jump and ended the competition with a total of 3 golds and two bronzes. However, these titles and what she won at the World Championships in Edmonton, were taken away from her. 

Later after they discovered that she competed under the influence of EPO, they stripped away her Olympic medals. In addition, she even testified falsely in the money laundering and check fraud case of her ex-husband, Tim Montgomery. So she had to spend six months behind bars. Later she became a member of the Tulsa Shock women’s basketball team, and now she works as a fitness trainer in Texas.

Stripped Away Olympic Medals – Alain Baxter 

Alain Baxter was a very good Scottish skier, particularly outstanding in slalom. Both of his parents were members of the British ski team, so it was in his genes. In 2002, Baxter became the first athlete from Great Britain in history to win an Olympic medal in alpine skiing. To express his joy, he painted the Scottish flag on his hair, although they asked him to take it off since he represented the whole of Great Britain. However, the trace of the paint remained. You can check it out at online sportsbook sites in the UK!

People celebrated him as a national hero when he returned home. Though, soon after, they announced that he had failed a drug test. They found a small amount of methamphetamine in his system. In a statement, Baxter announced that only his Vicks type inhalers could contain such a substance, of which he was not aware. The IOC accepted the explanation and only banned him for three months. He returned to the track but wasn’t able to reach his previous result.

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