Olympic Games scandals and controversies
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The
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
is a major international
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
. During its history, both the
Summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
and
Winter Games ''Winter Games'' is a sports video game developed by Epyx (and released in Europe by U.S. Gold), based on sports featured in the Winter Olympic Games. A snow-and-ice themed follow-up to the highly successful '' Summer Games'', ''Winter Games'' ...
have been a subject of scandals and controversies, including the use of performance enhancing drugs. Some countries have
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
ed the Games on various occasions, either as a protest against the
International Olympic Committee 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 ...
or to protest
racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...
in or the contemporary politics of other participants. After both
World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
, the defeated countries were not invited. Other controversies include doping programs, decisions by
referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...
s and gestures made by athletes.


Summer Olympics


1908 Summer Olympics – London, England, United Kingdom

*
Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
competed separately from the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, but was not allowed to display the
Finnish flag The flag of Finland ( fi, Suomen lippu, sv, Finlands flagga), also called ' ("Blue Cross Flag"), dates from the beginning of the 20th century. On a white background, it features a blue Nordic cross, which represents Christianity. The stat ...
. * In the men's 400 metres, American winner
John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...
was disqualified for blocking British athlete
Wyndham Halswelle Wyndham Halswelle (30 May 1882 – 31 March 1915) was a British athlete. He won the controversial 400m race at the 1908 Summer Olympics, becoming the only athlete to win an Olympic title by a walkover. Halswelle was also an infantry ...
in a manoeuvre that was legal under American rules but prohibited by the British rules under which the race was run. As a result of the disqualification, a second final race was ordered. Halswelle was to face the other two finalists William Robbins and John Taylor, but both were from the United States and decided not to contest the repeat of the final to protest the judges' decision. Halswelle was thus the only medallist in the 400 metres, a race which became the only
walkover John_Carpenter_was_disqualified,_prompting_his_teammates_John_Taylor_(athlete).html" ;"title="John_Carpenter_(athlete).html" "title="Athletics at the 1908 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metres">men's 400 metres running in a walkover. Americ ...
victory in Olympic history. Taylor later ran on the Gold medal-winning U.S. team for the now-defunct Medley Relay, becoming the first African American medallist.


1912 Summer Olympics – Stockholm, Sweden

* American athlete
Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...
was stripped of his gold medals in the
decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...
and
pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of t ...
after it was learned that he had played professional minor league baseball three years earlier. In solidarity, the decathlon silver medalist,
Hugo Wieslander Karl Hugo Wieslander (11 June 1889 – 24 May 1976) was a Swedish athlete. He set the inaugural world record in the pentathlon in Gothenburg in 1911 with a score of 5516 points. The following year he finished second in the decathlon at the 1912 ...
, refused to accept the medals when they were offered to him. The gold medals were restored to Thorpe's children in 1983, 30 years after his death.


1916 Summer Olympics (not held due to World War I)

* The 1916 Summer Olympics were to have been held in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
, but were cancelled because of the outbreak of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


1920 Summer Olympics – Antwerp, Belgium

*
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
had initially been selected over
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
and
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
to host the Games, but as the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
had been a German ally in World War I, the French-dominated International Olympic Committee transferred the Games to
Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,
in April 1919. * Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, and Turkey were not invited to the Games, being the successor states of the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,german: Mittelmächte; hu, Központi hatalmak; tr, İttifak Devletleri / ; bg, Централни сили, translit=Tsentralni sili was one of the two main coalitions that fought in ...
which were defeated in World War I.


1924 Summer Olympics – Paris, France

* Germany was again not invited to the Games.


1932 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, California, United States

* Nine-time Finnish Olympic gold medallist
Paavo Nurmi Paavo Johannes Nurmi (; 13 June 1897 – 2 October 1973) was a Finnish middle-distance and long-distance runner. He was called the "Flying Finn" or the "Phantom Finn", as he dominated distance running in the 1920s. Nurmi set 22 official world r ...
was found to be a professional athlete and barred from running in the Games. The main orchestrators of the ban were the Swedish officials that were the core of the IOC bureaucracy, including IOC president
Sigfrid Edström Johannes Sigfrid Edström (11 November 1870 – 18 March 1964) was a Swedish industrialist, chairman of the Sweden-America Foundation, and 4th President of the International Olympic Committee. Early life Edström was born in the tiny vi ...
, who claimed that Nurmi had received too much money for his travel expenses. Nurmi did, however, travel to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
and kept training at the Olympic Village. Despite pleas from all the other entrants of the marathon, he was not allowed to compete at the Games. This incident, in part, led to Finland refusing to participate in the traditional Finland-Sweden athletics international annual event until 1939. * After winning the silver in equestrian dressage, Swedish rider
Bertil Sandström Karl Bertil Sandström (25 November 1887 – 1 December 1964) was a Swedish military officer and horse rider. He competed at the 1920, 1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mis ...
was demoted to last for clicking to his horse to win encouragement. He asserted that it was a creaking saddle making the sounds.


1936 Summer Olympics – Berlin, Germany

*In 1931 the IOC selected the German capital city Berlin as the host city of the
1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...
. However, following
Adolf Hitler's rise to power Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
in 1933, the plans for the Olympic Games became entangled with the politics of the
Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. Hitler regarded the event as 'his' Olympics and sought to exploit the Games for propaganda purposes, with the aim of showcasing the post-First World War Germany. In 1936, a number of prominent politicians and organizations called for a boycott of the Summer Olympics, while other campaigners called for the games to be relocated. *
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
was not invited by Germany due to the Memelland/Klaipėda region controversy. *The
Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
government of the
Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...
decided to boycott the Berlin Games entirely and, together with labour and socialist groups around the world, organized an alternative event, the
People's Olympiad The People's Olympiad (Catalan: ''Olimpíada Popular'', Spanish: ''Olimpiada Popular'') was a planned international multi-sport event that was intended to take place in Barcelona, the capital of the autonomous region of Catalonia within the Span ...
. The event did not take place however; just as the Games were about to begin the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
broke out and the People's Olympiad was cancelled. *In the United States, there was considerable debate about boycotting the Games. A leading advocate of a boycott was U.S. athlete
Ernest Lee Jahncke Ernest Lee Jahncke (October 13, 1877 – November 16, 1960) was United States Assistant Secretary of the Navy from 1929 to 1933. He was the first, and until the 2002 Winter Olympic bid scandal the only person ever to have been expelled from t ...
, the son of a German immigrant, who was an IOC member. *International concern surrounded the ruling German National Socialists' ideology of
racial superiority Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people is superior to all others. The supposed superior people can be defined by age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, social class, ideology, nation, culture, ...
and its application at an international event such as the Olympics. In 1934 Avery Brundage undertook a visit to Germany to investigate the treatment of Jews. When he returned, he reported, "I was given positive assurance in writing ... that there will be no discrimination against Jews. You can't ask more than that and I think the guarantee will be fulfilled." In the event, a number of record-holding German athletes were excluded from competing at Berlin for being racially undesirable, including
Lilli Henoch Lilli Henoch (26 October 1899 – 8 September 1943) was a German track and field athlete who set four world records and won 10 German national championships, in four different disciplines. Henoch set world records in the discus (twice), the sh ...
,
Gretel Bergmann Gretel Lambert (born Margarethe Bergmann; April 12, 1914 – July 25, 2017)Wolfgang Fürstner. The only Jewish athlete to compete on the German team was fencer
Helene Mayer Helene Julie Mayer (20 December 1910 – 10 October 1953) was a German-born fencer who won the gold medal at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, and the silver medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. She competed for Nazi Germany in Berlin, despite ...
. *Hitler's decision not to shake hands with American long-jump medal winner
Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...
has been widely interpreted as a snub of an
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
; however some commentators have noted that Hitler missed all medal presentations after the first day as he only wished to shake hands with German victors. Owens himself was reported to have been magnanimous when he mentioned Hitler. After the Games however, Owens was not personally honoured by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
. * The Irish Olympic Council boycotted the games as the
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
had expelled the
National Athletic and Cycling Association The National Athletic and Cycling Association (NACA or N.A. and C.A.), from 1990 the National Athletic and Cycling Association of Ireland (NACAI or NACA(I)) was a federation of sports clubs in the island of Ireland practising athletics or bicyc ...
for refusing to restrict itself to the
Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
rather than the island of Ireland. * In the cycling match sprint final, German
Toni Merkens Nikolaus Anton "Toni" Merkens (21 June 1912 – 20 June 1944) was a racing cyclist from Germany and Olympic champion. He represented his native country at the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he won the gold medal in the men's 1000 m ...
fouled Dutch
Arie van Vliet Arie Gerrit van Vliet (18 March 1916 – 9 July 2001) was a Dutch sprint cyclist. Between 1934 and 1957, he won 13 medals at world championships, including four gold medals, and set several world records in sprint events, despite the interr ...
. Instead of disqualification, Merkens was fined 100
German reichsmark The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reichs ...
s and kept the gold medal. * In one of the football quarter-finals, Peru beat Austria 4–2 but Austria went through in very controversial circumstances. As a sign of protest the complete Olympic delegations of Peru and Colombia left Germany. * French and Canadian Olympians gave what appeared to be the
Nazi salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...
at the opening ceremony, although they may have been performing the Olympic salute, which is similar, as both are based on the
Roman salute The Roman salute, alternatively called the Fascist salute, is a gesture in which the right arm is fully extended, facing forward, with palm down and fingers touching. In some versions, the arm is raised upward at an angle; in others, it is held ...
.


1940 and 1944 Summer Olympics (not held due to World War II)

* The 1940 Summer Olympics were scheduled to be held in
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan, but were cancelled due to the outbreak of the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
. The government of Japan had abandoned its support for the 1940 Games in July 1938. 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 ...
then awarded the Games to
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland, the runner-up in the original bidding process, but the Games were not held due to the
Winter War The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
. Ultimately, the Olympic Games were suspended indefinitely following the outbreak of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and did not resume until the London Games of 1948.


1948 Summer Olympics – London, England, United Kingdom

* The two major
Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
of World War II, Germany and Japan, were suspended from the Olympics. German and Japanese athletes were allowed to compete again at the 1952 Olympics. * The Soviet Union was invited but chose not to send any athletes, sending observers instead to prepare for the 1952 Olympics.


1956 Summer Olympics – Melbourne, Australia and Stockholm, Sweden

* Seven countries boycotted the Games for three different reasons. Cambodia, Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon announced that they would not participate in response to the
Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
during which Egypt had been invaded by Israel, the United Kingdom, and France after Egypt had nationalized the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
. The Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland withdrew to protest the Soviet Union's invasion of Hungary during the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and the Soviet presence at the Games. Less than two weeks before the Opening Ceremony, the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
also chose to boycott the event, protesting the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(Taiwan) being allowed to compete (under the name "Formosa"). * The political frustrations between the Soviet Union and Hungary boiled over at the games themselves when the two men's
water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...
teams met for the semi-final. The players became increasingly violent towards one another as the game progressed, while many spectators were prevented from rioting only by the sudden appearance of the police. The match became known as the
Blood in the Water match The "Blood in the Water" match ( hu, melbourne-i vérfürdő lit. ''Blood bath of Melbourne''; russian: Кровь в бассейне, Krov' v basseyne, Blood in the swimming pool) was a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 ...
. * The advent of the state-sponsored "full-time amateur athlete" of the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
countries further eroded the ideology of the pure amateur, as it put the self-financed amateurs of the Western countries at a disadvantage. The
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
entered teams of athletes who were all nominally students, soldiers, or working in a profession, but many of whom were in reality paid by the state to train on a full-time basis. Nevertheless, the IOC held to the traditional rules regarding amateurism for athletes from non-Communist countries. * Due to quarantine issues, the equestrian events were held in
Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Sweden.


1964 Summer Olympics – Tokyo, Japan

*
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
and
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
withdrew after the IOC decision to ban teams that took part in the 1963
Games of the New Emerging Forces The Games of the New Emerging Forces (GANEFO) were the games set up by Indonesia as a counter to the Olympic Games. Established for the athletes of the so-called "emerging nations" (mainly newly independent socialist states), GANEFO was the name ...
and a three-year violent conflict, the
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation or Borneo confrontation (also known by its Indonesian / Malay name, ''Konfrontasi'') was an armed conflict from 1963 to 1966 that stemmed from Indonesia's opposition to the creation of the Federation of ...
. * South Africa was suspended from the Olympics due to its apartheid policies. The suspension would be lifted in 1992.


1968 Summer Olympics – Mexico City, Mexico

* 1968 Olympics Black Power salute:
Tommie Smith Tommie C. Smith (born June 6, 1944) is an American former track and field, track and field athlete and former wide receiver in the American Football League. At the 1968 Summer Olympics, Smith, aged 24, won the 200-meter sprint finals and gold me ...
and John Carlos, two black athletes who finished the men's 200-metre race first and third respectively, performed the "Power to the People" salute during the
United States national anthem "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...
. Peter Norman, a white Australian who finished in second place, wore a human rights badge in solidarity, and was heavily criticised upon returning to Australia.
George Foreman George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...
, the Olympic boxing
heavyweight champion At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...
, who on the contrary waved the
American flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the c ...
, became an "
Uncle Tom Uncle Tom is the title character of Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''. The character was seen by many readers as a ground-breaking humanistic portrayal of a slave, one who uses nonresistance and gives his life to protect ...
"-like outcast for many years. *
Věra Čáslavská en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games , country = Czechoslovakia , formercountry = , birth_date = , birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...
, in protest to the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
and the controversial decision by the judges on the
Balance Beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
and
Floor A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load ...
, turned her head down and away from the
Soviet flag The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), commonly known as the Soviet flag (), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from ...
whilst the
anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...
played during the medal ceremony. She returned home as a heroine of the Czechoslovak people, but was made an outcast by the Soviet dominated government. * Students in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
tried to make use of the media attention for their country to protest the authoritarian Mexican government. The government reacted with violence, culminating in the
Tlatelolco Massacre On October 2, 1968 in the Tlatelolco section of Mexico City, the Mexican Armed Forces opened fire on a group of unarmed civilians in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas who were protesting the upcoming 1968 Summer Olympics. The Mexican government and ...
ten days before the Games began and more than two thousand protesters were shot at by government forces.


1972 Summer Olympics – Munich, West Germany

* The
Munich massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...
occurred, when members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. Eleven athletes, coaches and judges were murdered by the terrorists. *
Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...
was banned from participating in the Olympics as the result of a 36 to 31 vote by the IOC held four days before the opening ceremonies. African countries had threatened to boycott the Munich games had the white-minority-ruled regime been permitted to send a team. The ban occurred over the objections of IOC president
Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...
who, in his speech following the Munich massacre, controversially compared the anti-Rhodesia campaign to the terrorist attack on the Olympic village. (see Rhodesia at the Olympics) * In the controversial gold medal basketball game, the US team appeared to win the gold medal game against the Soviet team, but the final three seconds were replayed three times until the Soviets won. * The 1972 Olympics Black Power salute, also known as the Forgotten Salute. * At the end of the men's Marathon, a German impostor entered the stadium to the cheers of the stadium ahead of the actual winner,
Frank Shorter Frank Charles Shorter (born October 31, 1947) is an American former long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics. His Olympic success, along with the ac ...
of the United States. During the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
coverage of the event, the guest commentator, writer
Erich Segal Erich Wolf Segal (June 16, 1937January 17, 2010) was an American author, screenwriter, educator, and classicist who wrote the bestselling novel '' Love Story'' (1970) and its hit film adaptation. Early life and education Born and raised in a ...
famously called to Shorter "It's a fraud, Frank." * In the men's field hockey final, Michael Krause's goal in the 60th minute gave the host West German team a 1–0 victory over the defending champion Pakistan. Pakistan's players complained about some of the umpiring and disagreed that Krause's goal was good. After the game, Pakistani fans ran onto the field in rage; some players and fans dumped water on Belgium's Rene Frank, the head of the sport's international governing body. During the medals ceremony, the players staged protests, some of them turning their backs to the West German flag and handling their silver medals disrespectfully. According to the story in the ''Washington Post'', the team's manager, G.R. Chaudhry, said that his team thought the outcome had been "pre-planned" by the officials, Horacio Servetto of Argentina and Richard Jewell of Australia.


1976 Summer Olympics – Montreal, Canada

* In protest against the
New Zealand national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...
's 1976 tour of South Africa, controversial due to the regime's
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
policies,
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
,
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
,
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
,
Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
, led a boycott of twenty-two African nations after the IOC refused to ban New Zealand from participating. Some of the teams withdrew after the first day. The controversy prevented a much anticipated meeting between Tanzanian
Filbert Bayi Filbert Bayi Sanka (born June 23, 1953) is a Tanzanian former middle-distance runner who competed throughout the 1970s. He set the world records for 1500 metres in 1974 and the mile in 1975. His world record in the 1500 m was also the Comm ...
—the former world record holder in both the
1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...
and the
mile run The mile run (1,760 yards or exactly 1,609.344 metres) is a middle-distance foot race. The history of the mile run event began in England, where it was used as a distance for gambling races. It survived track and field's switch to ...
—and New Zealand's John Walker—who had surpassed both records to become the world record holder in both events. Walker went on to win the gold medal in the 1500 metres. * Canada initially refused to allow the
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
's team (Taiwan) into the country as Canada did not recognize Taiwan as a nation. Canada's decision was in violation of its agreement with the IOC to allow all recognized teams. Canada agreed to allow the Taiwanese athletes into the country if they did not compete under the name or
flag of the Republic of China A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employ ...
. This led to protests and a threatened boycott by other countries including the US, but these came to naught after the IOC acquiesced to the Canadian demand which, in turn, led Taiwan to boycott the Games. The
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
also continued its boycott over the failure of the IOC to recognize its team as the sole representative of China. * The various boycotts resulted in only 92 countries participating, down from 121 in 1972 and the lowest number since the 1960
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
Games in which 80 states competed. * Soviet
modern pentathlete The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anc ...
Boris Onishchenko Boris Grigoryevich Onishchenko (Russian and uk, Борис Григорьевич Онищенко, links=no, ; also transliterated as Onyshchenko, Onishenko, Onischenko; born 19 September 1937) is a former Soviet modern pentathlete who compete ...
was found to have used an
épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains ...
which had a pushbutton on the pommel in the fencing portion of the pentathlon event. This button, when activated, would cause the electronic scoring system to register a hit whether or not the épée had actually connected with the target area of his opponent. As a result of this discovery, he and the Soviet pentathlon team were disqualified. *
Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, the host province, incurred $1.5 billion in debt, which was not paid off until December 2006. The
Mayor of Montreal The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all c ...
Jean Drapeau had famously said: "The Olympics can no more lose money than a man can have a baby."


1980 Summer Olympics – Moscow, Soviet Union

*
1980 Summer Olympics boycott The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union, which hosted the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, and its allies later ...
: U.S. President
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
instigated a boycott of the games to protest the
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
, as the Games were held in
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, the capital of the Soviet Union. Many nations refused to participate in the Games. The exact number of boycotting nations is difficult to determine, as a total of 66 eligible countries did not participate, but some of those countries withdrew due to financial hardships, only claiming to join the boycott to avoid embarrassment. Iran also boycotted the Moscow Games owing to Ayatollah Khomeini's support for the Islamic Conference's condemnation of the invasion of Afghanistan. Only 80 countries participated in the Moscow games, fewer than the 92 that had joined the 1976 games and the lowest number since the 1960
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
Games which had also featured 80 countries. A substitute event, titled the
Liberty Bell Classic The Liberty Bell Classic was a track and field athletics event organized by the Athletics Congress as part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott and held at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 16 and 17, 1980 ...
, often referred to as Olympic Boycott Games, was held at the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
by 29 of the boycotting countries. * A 1989 report by a committee of the
Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
claimed that "there is hardly a medal winner at the Moscow Games, certainly not a gold medal winner...who is not on one sort of drug or another: usually several kinds. The Moscow Games might well have been called the Chemists' Games". A member of the IOC Medical Commission, Manfred Donike, privately ran additional tests with a new technique for identifying abnormal levels of testosterone by measuring its ratio to
epitestosterone Epitestosterone, or isotestosterone, also known as 17α-testosterone or as androst-4-en-17α-ol-3-one, is an endogenous steroid and an epimer of the androgen sex hormone testosterone. It is a weak competitive antagonist of the androgen recepto ...
in
urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra. Cel ...
. Twenty percent of the specimens he tested, including those from sixteen gold medalists would have resulted in disciplinary proceedings had the tests been official. The results of Donike's unofficial tests later convinced the IOC to add his new technique to their testing protocols. The first documented case of "
blood doping Blood doping is a form of doping in which the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream is boosted in order to enhance athletic performance. Because such blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the muscles, a higher concentration in the bl ...
" occurred at the 1980 Summer Olympics as a runner was transfused with two pints of blood before winning medals in the 5000 m and 10,000 m. * Polish gold medallist
pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
er
Władysław Kozakiewicz Władysław Kozakiewicz (born 8 December 1953) is a retired Polish athlete who specialised in the pole vault. He is best known for winning the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the bras d'honneur gesture which he showed to th ...
showed an obscene
bras d'honneur A (), Iberian slap,, ; pt, manguito; ca, botifarra, . forearm jerk, Italian salute,, . or Kozakiewicz's gesture, or . is an obscene gesture that communicates moderate to extreme contempt, and is roughly equivalent in meaning to " fuck you", "s ...
gesture in all four directions to the jeering Soviet public, causing an international scandal and almost losing his medal as a result. There were numerous incidents and accusations of Soviet officials using their authority to negate marks by opponents to the point that
IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...
officials found the need to look over the officials' shoulders to try to keep the events fair. There were also accusations of opening stadium gates to advantage Soviet athletes, and causing other disturbances to opposing athletes.


1984 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, California, United States

*
1984 Summer Olympics boycott The boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles followed four years after the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. The boycott involved 14 Eastern Bloc countries and allies, led by the Soviet Union, which initiate ...
: The Soviet Union and fourteen of its allies boycotted the 1984 Games held in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, United States, citing a lack of security for their athletes as the official reason. The decision was regarded as a response to the United States-led boycott issued against the Moscow Olympics four years earlier. The
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
organized its own event, the
Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Su ...
, instead. The fact that Romania, a
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...
country, opted to compete despite Soviet demands led to a warm reception of the Romanian team by the United States. When the Romanian athletes entered during the opening ceremonies, they received a standing ovation from the spectators. For different reasons, Iran and Libya also boycotted the Games. * The men's light heavyweight boxing match between
Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Brit ...
and
Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...
ended in controversy, when referee Grigorije Novičić of
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
disqualified a clearly dominant Holyfield. Barry eventually won the silver medal, with Holyfield settling for bronze.


1988 Summer Olympics – Seoul, Republic of Korea

* The games were boycotted by North Korea and its ally,
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
.
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
,
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and the
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
did not respond to the invitations sent by the IOC.
Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
did not participate due to athletic and financial considerations. The participation of
Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
had been expected, and their team was expected at the opening ceremony of 160 nations but the country withdrew because of financial reasons. * Canadian sprinter
Ben Johnson Ben, Benjamin or Benny Johnson may refer to: In sports Association football * Ben Johnson (footballer, born 2000), English footballer * Ben Johnson (soccer) (born 1977), American soccer player Other codes of football *Ben Johnson (Australian foot ...
was stripped of his gold medal for the 100 metres when he tested positive for
stanozolol Stanozolol (Abbreviation, abbrev. Stz), sold under many brand names, is an androgen and anabolic steroid (AAS) medication derived from dihydrotestosterone (DHT). It is used to treat hereditary angioedema. It was developed by American pharmaceuti ...
after the event. * In a highly controversial 3–2 judge's decision,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
n boxer
Park Si-Hun A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...
defeated American
Roy Jones Jr. Roy Levesta Jones Jr. (born January 16, 1969) is an American former professional boxer who holds dual American and Russian citizenship. He competed in boxing from 1989 to 2018, and held multiple world championships in four weight classes, inc ...
, despite Jones pummelling Park for three rounds, landing 86 punches to Park's 32. Allegedly, Park himself apologized to Jones afterward. One judge shortly thereafter admitted the decision was a mistake, and all three judges voting against Jones were eventually suspended. The official IOC investigation concluding in 1997 found that three of the judges had been wined and dined by South Korean officials. This led to calls for Jones to be awarded a gold medal, but the IOC still officially stands by the decision, despite the allegations. * American diver
Greg Louganis Gregory Efthimios Louganis (; born January 29, 1960) is an American Olympic diver, LGBT activist, and author who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics on the springboard and platform. He is the only man and the second diver in Ol ...
suffered a concussion after he struck his head on the springboard during the preliminary rounds. He completed the preliminaries despite his injury, earning the highest single score of the qualifying round for his next dive and repeated the dive during the finals, earning the gold medal by a margin of 25 points. Louganis had been diagnosed
HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
-positive six months prior to the games—a diagnosis that was not publicly disclosed until 1995. This led some to question Louganis' decision not to disclose his HIV status during the Games, even though blood in a pool posed no risk.


1992 Summer Olympics – Barcelona, Spain

* Three British athletes, sprinter Jason Livingston, weightlifters Andrew Davies and
Andrew Saxton Andrew Saxton (born March 11, 1964) is a Canadian politician and businessman, who was elected Member of Parliament to represent the electoral district of North Vancouver in the 2008 Canadian federal election and re-elected in 2011; he was defe ...
, were sent home after being tested positive for
Anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...
and
Clenbuterol Clenbuterol is a sympathomimetic amine used by sufferers of breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator. People with chronic breathing disorders such as asthma use this as a bronchodilator to make breathing easier. It is most commonl ...
. * Russian weightlifter
Ibragim Samadov Ibragim Berkmanovich Samadov (''Ибрагим Беркманович Самадов'') born July 18, 1968 in Pervomayskaya, Chechenskaya Respublika, USSR is a former Olympic weightlifter. In transition at the end of the Soviet Union, he repr ...
was disqualified for a protest after he refused to accept the bronze medal at the medal ceremony. He was eventually banned for life. * In the final of the men's 10,000 m Moroccan Khalid Skah was racing Kenyan
Richard Chelimo Richard Chelimo (21 April 1972 – 15 August 2001) was a Kenyan long-distance runner, and a world record holder over 10,000 metres. However, he is best known as the silver medallist in the controversial 10,000m at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona ...
for the gold medal; with three laps remaining they both lapped Moroccan Hammou Boutayeb. Even though he was lapped he stayed with the leaders, slowing down the Kenyan and inciting the crowd to jeer. Initially Skah was disqualified for receiving assistance from a lapped runner, but, after an appeal by the Moroccan team to the IAAF, he was reinstated and his gold medal stood.


1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, Georgia, USA

* The 1996 Olympics were marred by the
Centennial Olympic Park bombing The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, on July 27, 1996, during the 1996 Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed ...
. * A gold medal boxing match in which
Daniel Petrov Daniel Bozhilov Petrov ( bg, Даниел Божилов Петров) (born 8 September 1971 in Varna) is a Bulgarian boxer. He won a silver medal at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 in the cate ...
from Bulgaria won against
Mansueto Velasco Mansueto "Onyok" Velasco Jr. (born January 10, 1974) is a Filipino retired boxer, comedian and actor from Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines. Competing in the 48 kg category he won a gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games and a silver at the 1 ...
from the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
was described as robbery in the Philippines. One media outlet claimed that it appeared that the judges were pressing the buttons on their electronic scoring equipment for the wrong boxer. However, neutral commentators stated that " Atlanta etrovproved his supremacy beyond doubt and was never really troubled in any of his 4 fights" and that "Velasco’s attempt to be the Philippines' first Olympic champion faltered from the beginning and etrovwas a clear winner by 19 points to 6." ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that "Daniel Petrov Bojilov ... dominated Mansueto Velasco of the Philippines, 19-6," but acknowledged that "the Filipino deserved more points."


2000 Summer Olympics – Sydney, Australia

* In December 2007 American track star
Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 200 ...
was stripped of five medals after admitting to
anabolic steroid Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone (medication), testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related ...
use. Jones had won three gold medals (100-metre sprint, 200-metre sprint and 4x400 relay) and two bronze medals (long jump and 4x100 relay). The IOC action also officially disqualified Jones from her fifth-place finish in the Long Jump at the
2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
. At the time of her admission and subsequent guilty plea, Jones was one of the most famous athletes to be linked to the
BALCO scandal The BALCO scandal was a scandal involving the use of banned, performance-enhancing substances by professional athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) was a San Francisco Bay Area business which supplied anabolic steroids to profes ...
. The case against BALCO covered more than 20 top level athletes, including Jones's ex-husband,
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
ter C.J. Hunter, and 100 m sprinter
Tim Montgomery Timothy Montgomery (born January 28, 1975) is an American former track sprinter who specialized in the 100-meter dash. In 2005, he was stripped of his records—including a now-void men's 100-meter world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002—a ...
, the father of Jones' first child. * In the Women's artistic gymnastics, Australian competitor
Allana Slater Allana Amy Slater (born 3 April 1984 in Perth, Western Australia) is a retired Australian artistic gymnast. The Australian senior all-around National Champion in 2000, 2003 and 2004 and a multiple medalist at the Commonwealth Games, Slater is ...
complained that the vault was set too low. The vault was measured and found to be 5 centimetres lower than it should have been. A number of the gymnasts made unusual errors, including American Elise Ray, who missed the vault completely in her warm-up, and Briton Annika Reeder, who fell and had to be carried off the mat after being injured. * Romanian
Andreea Răducan Andreea Mădălina Răducan (; born 30 September 1983) is a retired gymnast from Bârlad, Romania. She currently works as a sports announcer and journalist. Răducan began competing in gymnastics at a young age and was training at the Romanian j ...
became the first gymnast to be stripped of a medal after testing positive for
pseudoephedrine Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It may be used as a nasal/sinus decongestant, as a stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent in higher doses. It was first characteri ...
, at the time a prohibited substance. Răducan, 16, took Nurofen, a common over-the-counter medicine, to help treat a fever. The Romanian team doctor who gave her the medication was expelled from the Games and suspended for four years. The gold medal was finally awarded to Răducan's teammate
Simona Amânar Simona Amânar (; born 7 October 1979) is a Romanian former artistic gymnast. She is a seven-time Olympic and ten-time World Championship medalist. Amânar helped Romania win four consecutive world team titles (1994–1999), as well as the 20 ...
. Răducan was allowed to keep her other medals, a gold from the team competition and a silver from the vault. * Chinese gymnast
Dong Fangxiao Dong Fangxiao ( Chinese: 董芳霄; ''Dǒng Fāngxiāo'') is a Chinese retired international gymnast who competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She won a bronze medal with the Chinese team at the Olympics, as well as the 1999 World Championshi ...
was stripped of a bronze medal in April 2010. Investigations by the sport's governing body (FIG) found that she was only 14 at the 2000 Games. (To be eligible the gymnastic athletes must turn 16 during the Olympic year). FIG recommended the IOC take the medal back as her scores aided
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in winning the team bronze. The US women's team, who had come fourth in the event, moved up to third.


2004 Summer Olympics – Athens, Greece

*In artistic gymnastics, judging errors and miscalculation of points in two of the three events led to a revision of the gymnastics Code of Points. The South Korean team contested Tae-Young's parallel bars score after judges misidentified one of the elements of his routine. Further problems occurred in the men's horizontal bar competition. After performing a routine with six release skills in the high bar event final (including four in a row – three variations of Tkatchev releases and a
Gienger The Gienger is a gymnastics skill performed on the uneven bars for women and the high bar for men. It is named after German gymnast Eberhard Gienger. The release move looks like a half-turn layout "flyaway" above the bar to catch the same bar. Its ...
), the judges posted a score of 9.725, placing Nemov in third position with several athletes still to compete. This was actually a fair judging decision because he took a big step on landing which was a two-tenths deduction. The crowd became unruly on seeing the results and interrupted the competition for almost fifteen minutes. Influenced by the crowd's fierce reaction, the judges reevaluated the routine and inflated Nemov's score to 9.762. *While leading in the men's marathon with less than 10 kilometres to go, Brazilian runner
Vanderlei de Lima Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima (born 4 July 1969) is a Brazilian retired long-distance runner. He was born in Cruzeiro do Oeste, Paraná. While leading the marathon after 35 km at the 2004 Summer Olympics, he was attacked on the course by I ...
was attacked by de-frocked Irish priest
Neil Horan Cornelius "Neil" Horan, sometimes referred to as The Grand Prix Priest, The Dancing Priest or The Armageddon Priest (born 22 April 1947), is a laicised Irish Roman Catholic priest who is noted for his interference with the running of the 2003 ...
and dragged into the crowd. De Lima recovered to take bronze, and was later awarded the Pierre de Coubertin medal for sportsmanship. *Hungarian fencing official Joszef Hidasi was suspended for two years by the FIE after committing six errors in favour of Italy during the gold-medal match in men's team foil, denying the Chinese opponent the gold medal. *Canadian men's rowing pair Chris Jarvis and David Calder were disqualified in the semi-final round after they crossed into the lane belonging to the South African team, interfering with their progress. The Canadians appealed unsuccessfully to the
Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...
. * In the women's 100m hurdles, Canadian sprinter
Perdita Felicien Perdita Felicien (born August 29, 1980) is a Canadian retired hurdler. Felicien is the 2003 World champion in the 100 metres hurdles and 2004 World indoor champion in the 60 metres hurdles. She also won silver medals at the 2007 World Champions ...
stepped on the first hurdle, tumbling to the ground and taking Russian Irina Shevchenko with her. The Russian team filed an unsuccessful protest, pushing the medal ceremony back a day. Track officials debated for about two hours before rejecting the Russian arguments. The race was won by the United States'
Joanna Hayes Joanna Dove Hayes (born December 23, 1976, Williamsport, Pennsylvania) is an American hurdler, who won the gold medal in the 100 metres hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics. She originally specialized in the 400 metres hurdles. She won the silv ...
in Olympic-record time. * Iranian judoka Arash Miresmaili was disqualified after he was found to be overweight before a judo bout against Israeli
Ehud Vaks Ehud "Udi" Vaks ( he, אהוד "אודי" וקס; born 27 June 1979) is an Israeli judoka. Vaks won a bronze medal at the 1998 under-20 World Judo Championships in the under 60 kg weight class. 2004 Olympics In the 2004 Summer Olympi ...
. He had gone on an eating binge the night before in a protest against the IOC's recognition of the state of Israel. It was reported that Iranian Olympic team chairman Nassrollah Sajadi had suggested that the Iranian government should give him $115,000 (the amount he would have received if he had won the gold medal) as a reward for his actions. Then-
President of Iran The president of Iran ( fa, رئیس‌جمهور ایران, Rayis Jomhur-e Irān) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The president is the second highest-ranking official of Iran after the Supreme Leader. The president i ...
,
Mohammad Khatami Sayyid Mohammad Khatami ( fa, سید محمد خاتمی, ; born 14 October 1943) is an Iranian politician who served as the fifth president of Iran from 3 August 1997 to 3 August 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture from 1982 to ...
, who was reported to have said that Arash's refusal to fight the Israeli would be "recorded in the history of Iranian glories", stated that the nation considered him to be "the champion of the 2004 Olympic Games." *
Pelle Svensson Per Oskar "Pelle" Svensson (6 February 1943 – 17 December 2020) was a Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler and lawyer. His achievements included a silver medal at the 1964 Summer Olympics in the light heavyweight class and two gold medals at the Worl ...
, a former two-time world champion (Greco-Roman 100 kg class) and member of board of FILA from 1990 to 2007, has described FILA as an inherently corrupt organization. During the Games, Svensson served as chairman of the disciplinary committee of FILA. As he was watching the final in the men's Greco-Roman wrestling 84 kg class between Alexei Michine from
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Ara Abrahamian Ara Abrahamian ( hy , Արա Աբրահամյան; born 27 July 1975) is an Armenian-Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 S ...
from Sweden, Svensson witnessed how the Russian team leader
Mikhail Mamiashvili Mikhail Mamiashvili (born 1963 in Konotop, Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian Wrestling, wrestler of Georgians, Georgian origin. He won an Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea, competing for the Soviet Union. Career ...
was giving signs to the referee. When Svensson approached the official and informed him that this was not allowed according to the rules, Mamiashvili responded by saying: "you should know that this may lead to your death". Svensson later found proof that the Romanian referee was bribed (according to Svensson the referee had received over one million
Swedish krona The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; sign: kr; code: SEK) is the official currency of the Kingdom of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it ...
).


2008 Summer Olympics – Beijing, China

* Players for the men's basketball teams posed for a pre-Olympic newspaper advertisement in popular Spanish daily '' Marca'', in which they were pictured pulling back the skin on either side of their eyes, narrowing them in order to mimic the stereotypes of thin Asian eyes. * Swedish wrestler
Ara Abrahamian Ara Abrahamian ( hy , Արա Աբրահամյան; born 27 July 1975) is an Armenian-Swedish wrestler in Greco-Roman wrestling. He has won two World Championships in the 76 kg and 84 kg weight classes and a silver medal at the 2004 S ...
placed his bronze medal onto the floor immediately after it was placed around his neck in protest at his loss to Italian
Andrea Minguzzi Andrea Minguzzi (born 1 February 1982) is an Italian Greco-Roman wrestler. He won a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. Biography Minguzzi was born on 1 February 1982 in Castel San Pietro Terme. His father was also a wrestler in the 1970s. ...
in the semifinals of the men's 84kg Greco-Roman wrestling event. He was subsequently disqualified by the IOC, although his bronze medal was not awarded to Chinese wrestler Ma Sanyi, who finished fifth. * Questions have been raised about the ages of two Chinese female gymnasts,
He Kexin He Kexin (born January 1, 1992) is a Chinese former artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, she won gold medals on the uneven bars and as a member of the Chinese team. She was one ...
and
Jiang Yuyuan Jiang Yuyuan (also Yuyan; ; born November 1, 1991 in Liuzhou, Guangxi) is a retired Chinese gymnast. She is the 2008 Chinese all-around senior National Champion and a member of the gold medal-winning People's Republic of China team for the 2 ...
. This is due partly to their youthful appearance, as well as a speech in 2007 by Chinese director of general administration for sport Liu Peng. * Norway's last-second goal against South Korea in the handball semifinals put it through to the gold medal game, despite the ball possibly failing to have fully crossed the goal line prior to time expiring. The South Koreans protested and requested that the game continue into overtime. The IHF has confirmed the results of the match. *
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n taekwondo competitor
Ángel Matos Ángel Valodia Matos Fuentes (born December 24, 1976, in Holguín) is a former Cuban taekwondo athlete. He received a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
events after kicking a referee in the face. Matos attacked the referee after he disqualified Matos for violating the time limit on an injury timeout. He then punched another official. * China was criticized for their state run athlete training program. * By April 2017, the 2008 Summer Olympics had the most (50) Olympic medals stripped for doping violations. The leading country is Russia with 14 medals stripped.


2012 Summer Olympics – London, England, United Kingdom

* The North Korean women's football team delayed their game against Colombia for an hour after the players were introduced on the jumbo screen with the
Flag of South Korea The national flag of South Korea, also known as the Taegukgi (also spelled as ''Taegeukgi'', ) and colloquially known as the flag of Korea, has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue Taegeuk in its center, accompanied by fo ...
. * Greek
triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...
and
long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...
er
Paraskevi Papachristou Paraskevi "Voula" Papachristou ( gr, Παρασκευή (Βούλα) Παπαχρήστου ; born 17 April 1989) is a Greek triple jumper and long jumper. She won two gold medals at the European Athletics U23 Championships and took the third pla ...
was expelled by the Greek Olympic Committee after posting a racially insensitive comment on social media. * South Korean fencer Shin A-lam lost the semifinal match in the individual épée to Germany's
Britta Heidemann Britta Heidemann (born 22 December 1982) is a German épée fencer. In 2016, Heidemann became a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Career Épée Fencing At the age of 14, already being a successful athlete and swimmer, Britta ...
, after a timekeeping error allowed Heidemann to score the winning point before time expired. Shin A-lam remained on the
piste A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French
for over an hour while her appeal was considered, but the appeal was ultimately rejected and Germany advanced to play for the gold medal. Shin A-Lam was offered a consolation medal but declined the offer. * In the men's team artistic gymnastics, Japan was promoted to the silver medal position after successfully lodging an appeal over
Kōhei Uchimura is a retired Japanese artistic gymnast. He is a seven-time Olympic medalist (all-around, team and floor exercise), winning three golds and four silvers, and a twenty-one-time World medalist (all-around, team, floor exercise, horizontal bar, and ...
's final
pommel horse The pommel horse is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. Traditionally, it is used by only male gymnasts. Originally made of a metal frame with a wooden body and a leather cover, the modern pommel horse has a metal body covered with foam rubber and ...
performance. His fall on the last piece of apparatus had initially relegated the Japanese to fourth, and elevated host Great Britain to silver, and Ukraine to bronze. Although the decision to upgrade the Japanese score was greeted with boos in the arena, the teams involved accepted the correction. * Swiss footballer
Michel Morganella Michel Morganella (born 17 May 1989) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a defender for Chiasso. Club career Born to an Italian father and a Swiss mother, Morganella is a product of the FC Basel youth system and plays as a right-b ...
was expelled from the Olympics after a racist comment on Twitter about Koreans after Switzerland lost 2–1 to South Korea. * The men's light flyweight boxing gold medal match between Kaeo Pongprayoon of
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
and
Zou Shiming Zou Shiming (; born 18 May 1981) is a Chinese former professional boxer who competed from 2013 to 2017 and held the WBO flyweight title from 2016 to 2017. As an amateur, Zou is China's most successful boxer of all time. In the light-flyweight di ...
of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
was marred by controversy. Zou, the Chinese fighter, won on a controversial decision. Poingprayoon was hit with a two-point penalty for an unclear offence with 9 seconds left in the bout to give the Chinese boxer the victory. *During the women's semi-final football match between
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, an indirect free-kick was given for time-wasting by the Canadian goalkeeper,
Erin McLeod Erin Katrina McLeod (born February 26, 1983) is a Canadian soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Stjarnan of the Icelandic Besta deild kvenna. She first appeared for the Canada women's national soccer team at the 2002 Algarve Cup and ...
, when she held the ball longer than the six seconds allowed, a rarely penalised offence. From the free kick the American side won a penalty for handball; Abby Wambach scored the penalty to tie the game at 3–3. The Americans went on to win the match in extra time, advancing to the gold medal game. *The badminton women's doubles tournament became embroiled in controversy during the group stage when eight players (both pairs from
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and one pair each from
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
and
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
) were ejected from the tournament by the
Badminton World Federation The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is the international governing body for the sport of badminton recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). It was founded in 1934 as the International Badminton Federation (IBF) with nine member ...
after being found guilty of "not using best efforts" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" by playing to lose matches in order to manipulate the draw for the knockout stage. In one match, both teams made a series of basic errors, and in another the longest rally was just four shots. * In a men's bantamweight early round boxing match, Japanese boxer
Satoshi Shimizu is a Japanese professional boxer who has held the OPBF featherweight title since 2017. As an amateur, he won the bronze medal in the men's bantamweight division at the 2012 Olympics. Personal career He is currently an employee of a children' ...
floored Magomed Abdulhamidov of
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
six times in the third round. The referee, Ishanguly Meretnyyazov of
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
, never scored a count in each of the six knockdowns and let the fight continue. Meretnyyazov claimed they were slips, and even fixed Abdulhamidov's headgear during the affair. Abdulhamidov had to be helped to his corner following the round. The fight was scored 22–17 in favour of Abdulhamidov.
AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...
, the governing body for Olympic boxing, overturned the result following an appeal by Japan. * By April 2017, the Olympics had 29 Olympic medals stripped for doping violations. The leading country is
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
with 13 medals stripped.


2016 Summer Olympics – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

* Russian doping scandal and participation restrictions - * During a women's volleyball qualification tournament, a match between
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
caused controversy after the Thai team were given two red cards during the final set. Japan finished the tournament third and qualified for the Olympics, while Thailand finished fifth and did not qualify. The FIVB declined to review the match. *
Islam El Shehaby Islam El-Shehaby ( ''ʾIslām ash-Shahābī''; born 1 August 1982) is an Egyptian former judoka. He competed at the 2008, 2012, and 2016 Summer Olympics. El Shehaby was a nine-time African Champion (2002–13), and was the world bronze medalis ...
, an Egyptian judoka, refused to shake hands and bow to his opponent after being defeated by the Israeli
Or Sasson Or "Ori" Sasson ( he, אור "אורי" ששון; born 18 August 1990) is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the se ...
. * Four U.S. swimmers,
Ryan Lochte Ryan Steven Lochte ( ; born August 3, 1984) is an American professional swimmer and 12-time Olympic medalist. Along with Natalie Coughlin, Dara Torres, and Jenny Thompson, he is the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by to ...
,
Jimmy Feigen James Feigen (born September 26, 1989) is a former American competition swimmer who specializes in freestyle events. He won a gold medal for the 4x100-meter freestyle relay for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Previously, he won a silver medal as a ...
,
Gunnar Bentz Joseph "Gunnar" Bentz (born January 3, 1996) is an American former competitive swimming (sport), swimmer and Olympic gold medalist. Early life Bentz graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School (DeKalb County, Georgia), St. Pius X Catholic Hi ...
, and
Jack Conger John "Jack" Peet Conger (born September 26, 1994) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in butterfly and freestyle events. He is an Olympic gold medalist in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de ...
, allegedly vandalized a gas station bathroom, and were forced to pay for the damage by two security men who brandished a gun at the swimmers before a translator arrived. The swimmers later claimed to have been pulled over and robbed by gunmen wearing police uniforms. The
Federal Police of Brazil The Federal Police of Brazil (Portuguese: ''Polícia Federal'') is a federal law enforcement agency of Brazil and one of the three national police forces. The other two are the Federal Highway Police, and the National Force. From 1944 to 1967 it ...
detained Feigen, Bentz, and Conger (Lochte having already left the country) after it was determined that the swimmers had made false reports to the police of being robbed. All of the swimmers involved would receive various punishments and suspensions relating to their conduct during the incident by USA Swimming and USOC. * During the weightlifting tournament, Iran's
Behdad Salimi Behdad Salimi Kordasiabi ( fa, بهداد سلیمی كردآسیابی, born 8 December 1989) is former Iranian heavyweight weightlifter. He won gold medals at the 2012 Olympics, 2010–2018 Asian Games, 2010 and 2011 World Championships an ...
broke the world record in the snatch weightlifting of the Men's over 105-kilogram class, but was later disqualified in the
clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without res ...
stage. The
Iranian National Olympic Committee National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a sports governing body situated in Tehran, Iran. It concerns the matters related to the Olympics. The current president of National Olympic Committee of Iran is Mahmoud Khosravivaf ...
filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the
International Weightlifting Federation The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF), headquartered in Lausanne, is the international governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting. The IWF was founded in 1905, and has 192 Member Federations. The IWF President is Mohammed H ...
(IWF), and the IWF's website was hacked by protestors. The CAS dismissed the appeal due to a lack of evidence that the disqualification was made in bad faith. * Nine Australian athletes had their passports seized by Brazilian police and were fined R$10,000 (
US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
3,000) after it was revealed they had falsified their credentials in order to watch a basketball game between Serbia and Australia. * During the second bronze medal match between
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
's Ikhtiyor Navruzov and
Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...
's
Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran Ganzorigiin Mandakhnaran (Mongolian language, Mongolian: ; born 11 May 1986) is a male Mongolian wrestler who competes in the 66 kg category in freestyle wrestling. He was born in Tuv province of Mongolia. He is a two-time world bronze medal ...
in the 65 kg freestyle wrestling, Mandakhnaran held a lead of 7-6 near the end of the match and began celebrating before it had concluded. In response, Ikhtiyor was awarded a penalty point for Mandakhnaran "failing to engage" during the end of the match, which resulted in a 7-7 draw. Ikhtiyor won the game and the bronze due to being the last to score. The Mongolian coaches protested the point, which could not be challenged, by stripping in front of the judges on the mat, resulting in a shoe being sent into the judges' table. Ikhtiyor was awarded a second penalty point as the coaches were escorted away from the mat, leading to the final score being 7–8. *Controversy surrounded the new judging system in
boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
; the new counting system had five judges who judged each bout, and a computer randomly selected three whose scores are counted. Traditionally, judges would use a computer scoring system to count each punch landed, but in 2016 the winner of each round was awarded 10 points and the loser a lower number, based on criteria which includes the quality of punches landed, effective aggression and tactical superiority. Two results in particular attracted controversy, both involving Russian athletes whose victories were put in question: the defeat of Vasily Levit by Russian Evgeny Tishchenko in the men's heavyweight gold-medal fight and the defeat of Michael Conlan by Vladimir Nikitin in the men's bantamweight quarter-final, after which Conlan accused
AIBA The International Boxing Association (IBA), previously known as the Association Internationale de Boxe Amateur (AIBA), is an independent sport organization that sanctions amateur (Olympic-style) boxing matches and awards world and subordinate cha ...
and the Russian team of cheating, even
tweeting Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
to
President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
"Hey Vlad, How much did they charge you bro??". The AIBA removed an unspecified number of judges and referees following the controversy, stating that they "determined that less than a handful of the decisions were not at the level expected" and "that the concerned referees and judges will no longer officiate at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games"; however, the original decisions stood. * In December 2016, Russian boxer
Misha Aloyan Mikhail Surenovich Aloyan (russian: Михаил Суренович Алоян; born 23 August 1988) is a Russian professional boxer who challenged for the WBO bantamweight title in 2018. As an amateur flyweight Aloyan won gold medals at the ...
was stripped of the silver medal in 52 kg boxing at the Games for testing positive for
tuaminoheptane Tuaminoheptane (, ; brand names Heptin, Heptadrine, Tuamine; also known as tuamine and 2-aminoheptane) is a sympathomimetic agent and vasoconstrictor which was formerly used as a nasal decongestant. It has also been used as a stimulant. Tuamin ...
.


2020 Summer Olympics – Tokyo, Japan

*In the wake of the global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the Games were postponed for the first time in the 124-year history of the modern Olympics. The Games were held in July and August 2021, despite many concerns that the Delta variant of COVID-19 posed a serious threat. * Fethi Nourine, an Algerian judoka competing in the men's 73kg class, was sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after he withdrew from the competition after refusing to compete against an Israeli opponent,
Tohar Butbul Tohar Butbul ( he, טוהר בוטבול; born 24 January 1994) is an Israeli judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 Judo World Masters and the 2021 European Championships, and won ...
. The
International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in July 1951. The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National ...
(IJF) announced the immediate suspension of Nourine and his coach on 24 July 2021, pending a further investigation, while the Algerian Olympic Committee revoked their accreditation, and sent Nourine and his coach back home to Algeria. Nourine and coach Amar Benikhlef were banned from international competition for ten years.


2024 Summer Olympics – Paris, France

*The continuing COVID-19 pandemic remains an issue after the postponement of the previous Summer Olympics.


2028 Summer Olympics – Los Angeles, California, United States

*The games were awarded to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
four years earlier than usual. The four extra years of waiting can be a further extra preparation to the host city. On the other hand, this may pose other risk due to political issue, or other natural disasters can occur.


Winter Olympics


1928 Winter Olympics – St Moritz, Switzerland

* In the 10,000-meter speed skating race, American
Irving Jaffee Irving Warren Jaffee (September 15, 1906 in New York City – March 20, 1981 in San Diego, California) was an American speed skater who won two gold medals at the 1932 Winter Olympics, becoming the most successful athlete there along with h ...
was leading the competition, having outskated Norwegian defending world champion
Bernt Evensen Bernt Sverre Evensen (18 April 1905 – 24 August 1979) was a Norwegian speed skater and racing cyclist who competed in skating at the 1928 and 1932 Winter Olympics. In 1928 he became the first Norwegian skater to win an Olympic gold medal by w ...
in their heat, when rising temperatures thawed the ice. In a controversial ruling, the Norwegian referee canceled the entire competition. Although the IOC reversed the referee's decision and awarded Jaffee the gold medal, the
International Skating Union The International Skating Union (ISU) is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Net ...
later overruled the IOC and restored the ruling. Evensen, for his part, publicly said that Jaffee should be awarded the gold medal, but that never happened.


1968 Winter Olympics – Grenoble, France

* French skier
Jean-Claude Killy Jean-Claude Killy (born 30 August 1943) is a French former World Cup alpine ski racer. He dominated the sport in the late 1960s, and was a triple Olympic champion, winning the three alpine events at the 1968 Winter Olympics, becoming the most su ...
achieved a clean sweep of the then-three alpine skiing medals at
Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, but only after what the IOC bills as the "greatest controversy in the history of the Winter Olympics." The slalom run was held in poor visibility and Austrian skier
Karl Schranz Karl Schranz (born 18 November 1938) is a former champion Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer from Austria, one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s. Born and raised in Sankt Anton am Arlberg, St. Anton, Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Schranz had a leng ...
claimed a course patrolman crossed his path during the slalom race, causing him to stop. Schranz was given a restart and posted the fastest time. A Jury of Appeal then reviewed the television footage, declared that Schranz had missed a gate on the upper part of the first run, annulled his repeat run time, and gave the medal to Killy. * Three
East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
competitors in the women's
luge A luge is a small one- or two-person sled on which one sleds supine (face up) and feet-first. A luger steers by using the calf muscles to flex the sled's runners or by exerting opposite shoulder pressure to the seat. Racing sleds weigh for s ...
event were disqualified for illegally heating their runners prior to each run.


1972 Winter Olympics – Sapporo, Japan

* Austrian skier Karl Schranz, a vocal critic of then-IOC president
Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...
and reportedly earning $50,000 a year at the time, was singled out for his status as a covertly professional athlete, notably for his relationship with the ski manufacturer
Kneissl Kneissl is a manufacturer of handmade skis, biking and tennis equipment and apparel, based in Kufstein, Tyrol, Austria. History To 1990 The Kneissl Company was founded as a wheel factory in 1861. The first skis were produced in 1919. In the ...
, and ejected from the games. Schranz's case was particularly high-profile because of the disqualification controversy centring on him at the 1968 games and Schranz's subsequent dominance of alpine skiing in the Skiing World Cups of 1969 and 1970. Brundage's twenty-year reign as President of the IOC ended six months later and subsequent presidents have been limited to terms of eight years, renewable once for four years.


1976 Winter Olympics – Innsbruck, Austria

* The chosen location for the
1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...
was originally
Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
. However, after the city's voters rejected partially funding the Games, they were relocated to
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
, Austria. Innsbruck previously hosted the 1964 Games.


1980 Winter Olympics – Lake Placid, New York, United States

*
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
(The Republic of China) did not participate in the Games over the IOC's recognition of the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
as "China", and its request for Taiwan to compete as "
Chinese Taipei "Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan. Due to the One-China principle stipulated by th ...
". Taiwan missed the 1976
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
Summer Games and 1980
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
Summer Games for the same reason. It returned to the Games in 1984.


1994 Winter Olympics – Lillehammer, Norway

* Jeff Gillooly, the ex-husband of U.S.
figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...
Tonya Harding Tonya Maxene Price (née Harding; born November 12, 1970) is an American former figure skater, retired boxer and a reality television personality. Born in Portland, Oregon, Harding was raised primarily by her mother, who enrolled her in ice sk ...
, arranged for an attack on her closest American rival,
Nancy Kerrigan Nancy Ann Kerrigan (born October 13, 1969) is an American figure skating, figure skater and actress. She won bronze medals at the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World Championships and the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympic ...
, a month before the start of the Games. Both women competed, with Kerrigan winning the silver and Harding performing poorly. Harding was later banned for life both from competing in
USFSA U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States. It is recognized as such by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee "USOPC" under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act an ...
-sanctioned events and from becoming a sanctioned coach.


1998 Winter Olympics – Nagano, Japan

* At the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
in
Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...
, Japan, a judge in the ice dancing event tape-recorded another judge trying to pre-ordain the results.
Dick Pound Richard William Duncan Pound (born March 22, 1942), better known as Dick Pound, is a Canadian swimming (sport), swimming champion, lawyer, and Spokesperson, spokesman for ethics in sport. He was the first president of the World Anti ...
, a prominent IOC official, said soon afterward that ice dancing should be stripped of its status as an Olympic event unless it could clean up the perception that its judging is corrupt. * Canadian gold medalist snowboarder
Ross Rebagliati Ross Rebagliati (born July 14, 1971) is a Canadian snowboarder who won a gold medal in the men's giant slalom event at the 1998 Winter Olympics. The International Olympic Committee initially stripped him of the medal due to a failed drug test f ...
was disqualified for
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
being found in his system. The IOC reinstated the medal days later.


2002 Winter Olympics – Salt Lake City, Utah, United States

*Two sets of gold medals were awarded in pairs figure skating, to Canadian pair
Jamie Salé Jamie Rae Salé (born April 21, 1977) is a Canadian former competitive pair skater, and a current motivational speaker and conspiracy theorist. With her former husband David Pelletier, she is the 2002 Olympic Champion and 2001 World Champion. ...
and
David Pelletier David Jacques Pelletier (born November 22, 1974) is a Canadian pairs figure skater. With his former wife Jamie Salé, he was the co-gold medal winner at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. They shared the gold medal with the Russian pair Elena Ber ...
and to Russian pair
Elena Berezhnaya Elena Viktorovna Berezhnaya (russian: Елена Викторовна Бережная, born 11 October 1977) is a Russian former pair skater. With partner Anton Sikharulidze, she is the 1998 and 1999 World champion, 1998 Olympic silver medali ...
and
Anton Sikharulidze Anton Tarielyevich Sikharulidze (russian: link=no, Антон Тариэльевич Сихарулидзе, born 25 October 1976) is a Russian former pair skater. With Elena Berezhnaya, he is the 1998 and 1999 World champion, 1998 Olympic sil ...
, after allegations of collusion among judges in favour of the Russian pair. *Three cross-country skiers, Spaniard
Johann Mühlegg Johann Mühlegg (born 8 November 1970 in Ostallgäu, Germany) is a former top level cross-country skier who competed in international competitions first representing Germany and then Spain, after becoming a Spanish citizen in 1999. He was exclude ...
and Russians Larissa Lazutina and
Olga Danilova Olga Valeryevna Danilova ( Russian: Ольга Валерьевна Данилова; born 10 June 1970 in Bugulma, Tatar ASSR) is a Russian cross-country skier who competed from 1991 until she was banned for using performance-enhancing drugs i ...
, were disqualified after blood tests indicated the use of
darbepoetin Darbepoetin alfa (INN) is a re-engineered form of erythropoietin containing 5 amino acid changes (N30, T32, V87, N88, T90) resulting in the creation of 2 new sites for N-linked carbohydrate addition. It has a 3-fold longer serum half-life compar ...
. Following a December 2003 ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the IOC withdrew all the doped athletes' medals from the Games, amending the result lists accordingly.


2006 Winter Olympics – Turin, Italy

* Members of the Austrian biathlon team had their Olympic Village residences raided by Italian authorities, who were investigating doping charges. * Russian biathlete
Olga Medvedtseva Olga Valeryevna Medvedtseva (russian: Ольга Валерьевна Медведцева), former Pyleva (russian: Пылёва), née Zamorozova (russian: Заморозова), (born 7 July 1975) is a former Russian biathlete. At the 2002 Win ...
was stripped of her silver medal won in the individual race, due to positive drug test. A two-year ban from any competition was imposed.


2010 Winter Olympics – Vancouver, Canada


2014 Winter Olympics – Sochi, Russia

* In August 2008, the government of Georgia called for a boycott of the Games in response to Russia's participation in the
2008 South Ossetia war The 2008 Russo-Georgian WarThe war is known by a variety of other names, including Five-Day War, August War and Russian invasion of Georgia. was a war between Georgia, on one side, and Russia and the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of Sou ...
. The IOC responded to concerns about the status of the 2014 games by stating that it was "premature to make judgments about how events happening today might sit with an event taking place six years from now." * In mid-2013, a number of organizations, including
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
, began calling for a boycott of the Games due to oppressive and homophobic legislation that bans 'gay propaganda', including the open acknowledgement of gay identities, the display of
rainbow flag A rainbow flag is a multicolored flag consisting of the colors of the rainbow. The designs differ, but many of the colors are based on the spectral colors of the visible light spectrum. The LGBT flag introduced in 1978 is the most recogniz ...
s and public displays of affection between same-sex couples. * Severe cost overruns made the 2014 Winter Olympics the most expensive Olympics in history, with allegations of corruption among government officials, and of close relationships between the government and construction firms. While originally budgeted at US$12 billion, various factors caused the budget to expand to US$51 billion, surpassing the estimated $44 billion cost of the
2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. * Lebanese skier
Jackie Chamoun Jackie Chamoun (born 21 October 1991) is a Lebanese alpine skier. As the age of 14, she started participating in professional skiing events ( slalom and giant slalom) all around the world. She participated in FIS Alpine World Ski Championships ...
, who had a photo shoot taken of her wearing nothing but ski boots and a thong, had the Lebanese government claim that she damaged the reputation of her country. *
Doping in Russia Systematic doping of Russian athletes has resulted in 48 Olympic medals stripped from Russia (and Russian associated teams), four times the number of the next highest, and more than 30% of the global total. Russia has the most competitors who h ...
- Richard McLaren published two reports in 2016 claiming that from "at least late 2011 to 2015" more than 1,000 Russian competitors in various sports, including summer, winter, and Paralympic sports, benefited from a doping cover-up. As of 25 December 2015, 43 Russian athletes who competed in Sochi have been disqualified, with 13 medals removed.


2018 Winter Olympics – PyeongChang, Republic of Korea

* Russia was banned by the IOC from attending the Games due to state-sponsored doping. * Kei Saito, a Japanese Short Track Speed Skater was suspended after being caught doping.


2022 Winter Olympics – Beijing, China

* Despite having more cities interested in this olympics, the bidding process experienced the most dramatic bids withdrawals ever seen. This means when candidate stage was reached,
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
should have been chosen as the host location. However, Oslo withdrew the bid later on, effectively making the situation similar to what happened for
1976 Winter Olympics The 1976 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XII Olympic Winter Games (german: XII. Olympische Winterspiele, french: XIIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Innsbruck 1976 ( bar, Innschbruck 1976, label=Austro-Bavarian), was a ...
when Denver rejected the games after being awarded. But the difference is, instead of reopening the bidding process, the process continued with the two remaining candidates (
Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
and
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
). *
Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
applied diplomatic boycotts to the Games due to the Uighur Genocide and
human rights in Tibet Human rights in Tibet are a contentious issue. Although the United States advocates and provided funds to Dalai Lama's independence movement, the United States does not recognize Tibet as a country.US State Department, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rig ...
. *
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese government delegates did not attend the Olympics but will still allow its team to play.


2026 Winter Olympics – Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy


See also

*
List of stripped Olympic medals The following is a list of stripped Olympic medals. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the governing body of the Olympic Games, and as such, can rule athletes to have violated regulations of the Games, for which athletes' Olympic medals ...
* Campaign for a Scottish Olympic Team *
Doping at the Olympic Games This article is about the history of competitors at the Olympic Games using banned ergogenic aid, athletic performance-enhancing drugs. History The use of performance-enhancing tactics or more formally known as PEDs, and more broadly, the use ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Olympic Games Scandals And Controversies
Scandals A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...