Alexander Leipold (born 2 June 1969 in Alzenau in Unterfranken) is a German former freestyle wrestler who won the German Championships eleven times, the European Championships three times, the World Championships in 1994, and won the tournament at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

but was later stripped of his gold medal for doping.

Wrestling career

Leipold won the German Junior Championships in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

in 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989, and was runner-up in 1987. After being runner-up in the German Championships in 1988 and 1989, he won in 1991, 1992, 1994–1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005, and was runner-up in 2004 and third in 1993. He was runner-up in the European Junior Championships in 1985 and finished fifth in 1987. He won the European Espoir Championships in 1988, and finished sixth in the European Championships the same year before winning them in 1991, 1995 and 1998. He was runner-up in 1997 and 2003, and third in 1994 and 1999. He won the World Espoir Championships in 1984 the World Championships in 1994, and was runner-up in 1995, 1997 and 1999, and third in 1998. At the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

, he finished seventh, in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

thirteenth, and at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

fifth. At the

, he won the freestyle tournament, winning the final 4–0 against

Brandon Slay Brandon Slay (born October 14, 1975) won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in wrestling. Slay also help found Dallas Dynamite wrestling club in Dallas, TX. Slay currently is the Assistant National Freestyle Coach and National Freestyl ...

. Leipold then tested positive for norandrosterone and norethiocholanolone, which are used to prove the presence of the steroid

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) which is used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate (brand name Durabolin). Nandrolon ...

, and the gold medal was awarded to Slay. Prince

Alexandre de Merode Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre (disambiguation) Alexandre may re ...

, the chairman of the IOC medical commission, was quoted as saying that Leipold's sample showed 20 nanograms of nandrolone per milliliter of urine, whereas the limit was 2 nanograms per milliliter. The German Wrestling Federation suspended Leipold for two years, but the suspension was lifted because the federation had taken more than the permitted seven days to announce their decision. Leipold had a receipt for 50 milliliters of urine for the B sample, but the laboratory report stated that 85 milliliters had been tested. He appealed the decision of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...

and his suspension from competition was reduced from two years to one year, and he was not required to pay the costs. Another freestyle wrestler, the Mongolian Oyunbileg Purevbaata, also failed a doping test at the same Olympics. In 2003, Leipold suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

during a competition in

Tashkent Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of ...

and was paralysed on one side, and suffered a further two heart attacks, but recovered relatively quickly, so that he was able to continue wrestling.

Trainer

He studied and qualified in April 2009 for a trainer diploma at the Trainer Academy Cologne, and was German federal trainer for juniors in free style wrestling until 2015

Personal life

He married Juliana Marx, and lives with his wife and two sons in

Karlstein am Main Karlstein am Main (officially ''Karlstein a. Main'') is a municipality in the Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of G ...

Bibliography

* ''Ich glaub' an mich - ein Ringerleben'' by Alexander Leipold and Klaus Weise,

References

External links

Official website in German
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leipold, Alexander Olympic wrestlers of West Germany Olympic wrestlers of Germany Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics German male sport wrestlers Doping cases in wrestling German sportspeople in doping cases People from Alzenau Sportspeople from Lower Franconia 1969 births Living people Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals 21st-century German people 20th-century German people