Adrián Zsolt Annus (born 28 June 1973 in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

) is a Hungarian

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

er, who was stripped of his

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

for a doping violation in a highly publicized scandal. The disqualification received heightened attention, as it came on the heels of several drug scandals at the Athens Games and came as Annus' teammate,

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field sport in which the participant athlete throws an oblate spheroid weight (object), weight called a discus in an attempt to mark a further distance than other competitors. It is a ...

Róbert Fazekas Róbert Fazekas (born 18 August 1975 in Szombathely) is a Hungary, Hungarian discus thrower, who won gold in the 2002 European Championships and silver in the 2003 World Championship. He finished first in the 2004 Summer Olympics, but was later ...

was also stripped of his Olympic title for a doping violation. The incident also received attention, as Annus refused for several months to return his gold medal, relenting only after the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

put pressure on the Hungarian Olympic Committee and threatened sanctions.

Career

Annus grew up in Gyula and moved to

Szombathely } Szombathely (; ; also see #Etymology, names) is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas County in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria. Szombathely lies by the streams ''Perint'' and '' ...

in 1989. His first coach was Géza Annus, but joined Haladás VSE, the Szombathely sports club after his move. At Haladás Gyula Simon coached him, before

Pál Németh Pál Németh (20 June 1937 – 9 January 2009) was a Hungarian sportsperson and later coach in hammer throwing. Born in Szentkirály, he was the son of athletics coach László Németh. During his own sporting career, Pál Németh played v ...

took over. His first significant result came in 1992, when he finished eleventh in the discus throw at the World Junior Championship in Seoul. In 1998, Adrián Annus finished eighth in the hammer at the European Championships in Budapest. This strong showing made Annus a potential contender for a medal at the

2000 Summer Olympic Games The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, but he was initially left out of the team due to stiff competition for a spot on the team. He eventually received a spot on the team due to an injury, but was not in top form to be a real contender and finished seventeenth. Following the 2000 Olympics, Annus broke with his coach, Pál Németh, and joined József Vida. 2002 and 2003 were among his best years. In 2002 he won the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

and in 2003 he took

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

at the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. He also won the 2003 World Athletic Final. This achievement earned him the title 2003 Hungarian Sportsman of the Year.

Drug scandal

In 2004, Annus was favored to win in Athens, but was stripped of his medal just a few days after winning, losing the gold medal to

Koji Murofushi is a Japanese former hammer thrower and sports scientist. He has been among the world elite since the 2001 World Championships, where he won the silver medal. He was the 2004 Olympic champion. In 2011, he was crowned world champion. Early ...

. The International Olympic Committee concluded, that his urine samples—taken before and after competition—showed evidence of belonging to different people, therefore indicating tampering. The IOC also attempted to test Annus shortly after his competition in Athens, but Annus refused the test, which by itself warranted his disqualification. The IOC never officially concluded how it was possible for Annus to provide samples that belonged to different people, but track and field insiders said he likely used a device, which included a container for urine and a fake penis and emptied the container into the testing bottle when required to provide a sample. Following a rejected appeal and a hearing by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Annus was banned for two years. Following the ban, Annus began training and started competing in 2007.

Results

*1996: Atlanta, Olympic Games, 28th *1998: Budapest, European Championships 8th *2000: Sydney, Olympic Games 17th *2001: Edmonton, World Championships 9th *2001: Beijing, Summer Universiade, 3rd *2002: Münich, European Champions, 1st *2002: Madrid, World Cup, 1st *2002: Paris, Grand Prix, 2nd *2003: Szombathely, Hungary, MAL Cup, 84 meter 19 cm - Hungarian record *2003: Paris, World Championships, 2nd *2003: Szombathely (Hungary),

World Athletics Final The IAAF World Athletics Final was an annual track and field competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). It was inaugurated in 2003 to replace the IAAF Grand Prix Final. The competition was part of the ...

, 1st

Awards

* Hungarian athlete of the Year (1): 2003

References

External links