Pride and reputation, shame and falsification are the two sides of the Olympic Games.
The Summer Olympics are associated, on the one hand, with honor, glory and victories. On the other hand, there are quarrels, scandals and fraud. Let us consider the brightest moments on both sides, beginning with the shameful deception in 1896 before a serious political statement in 1968.
1. 1896, Athens: marathon in the carriage
During the first Olympic Games, one of the participants in the marathon race Spiridon Belokas drove part of the way in the carriage. Even so, he could only come to the finish line third.
2. 1900, Paris: Women ?! What a scandal!
At the first Olympic Games in 1896, women could not take part in competitions. But already at the second Olympic Games in Paris, women were allowed to participate, however, only in five disciplines: tennis, horse and sailing, croquet and golf. But even this was a big step forward, given that by 1900 in most countries women still lacked even the right to vote.
3. 1904, St. Louis: Marathon in the car
Once again you can make sure that life does not teach anything, and the American Fred Lorz did not draw the appropriate conclusions from the case with Belokas. Not breaking 15 km, he got into the car of his coach, in which he rode the next 18 km, when the car suddenly broke down. The remaining nine kilometers Lortz ran all alone, leaving the rivals far behind. Already after the award, he still confessed to cheating, was disqualified, but a year later he honestly won the marathon in Boston.
4. 1908, London: a mess in the rules
What should we do if the two participating countries can not agree on the rules of the same competition? Then they prefer the rules of the host country. It happened in 1908 in the final 400 meters race, when the American John Carpenter intentionally blocked the way to British Wyndham Holswell, which was allowed in the US, but it is forbidden in Britain. Carpenter was disqualified according to the rules of the host country Olympics, but the other two athletes were also Americans and, in solidarity with the compatriot, refused to participate in the re-run, so that Holswell had to run alone. He was eventually awarded a victory.
5. 1932, Los Angeles: The Mysterious Sound
Having won silver in the most elegant form of equestrian sport - dressage, - Swedish athlete Bertil Sandström was deprived of points and moved to the last place for allegedly using prohibited methods of controlling a horse - with clicks. Sandström explained the origin of the sound by the creak of the saddle. What it was in fact, it was not possible to find out, but he still got the silver medal.
6. 1936, Berlin: the first gender test
In the struggle for victory in the hundred-meter race, the Polish gold medalist Stanislav Valasevich lost a little to the American Helene Stevens. This caused an ambiguous reaction of the Polish team: they said that the time shown by an American woman could not be achieved by a woman and required a gender test. Stevens agreed to undergo a humiliating inspection, which confirmed that she was a woman. But the most interesting is that this story received an unexpected sequel much later. A few decades later, in 1980, Stanislava Valasevich, who by that time emigrated to the US and changed her name to Stella Wolsch, was killed in a shop robbery in Cleveland. At the autopsy, a shocking fact emerged: she was a hermaphrodite.
7. 1960, Rome: running barefoot
Until 1960 athletes have never competed barefoot. The runner from Ethiopia, Abebe Bikila, attracted attention when he ran the entire marathon distance barefoot and finished first.
8. 1960, Rome: substitution of athletes
During the first type of competition for pentathlon - fencing - athletes from Tunisia tried to win, but realized that they were lagging behind. Then they decided to send each time to fight instead of the other team members of the same strong fencer. Nevertheless, when the same athlete entered the fencing track for the third time, the deception was revealed.
9. 1960, Rome: victory by eye
American Lance Larson and Australian John DeWitt at the 100-meter freestyle event finished simultaneously. In those days there were no electronic devices, the judges determined the winner visually. In the end, after consulting the day, the victory was awarded to DeWitt, although Larson first touched the rim.
10. 1964, Tokyo: chromosomal absurdity
Polish athlete Eva Klobukovska won "gold" in the relay 4 to 100 meters and "bronze" on the hundred-meter mark. However, three years later, based on the results of chromosome testing, she was disqualified and deprived of all the 1964 Olympic awards. Nevertheless, as in the case of Volsh, the story does not end there. A few years later Klobukovskaya had a son, and her doubts about her sex were gone, unlike the authenticity of the genetic test for determining the superfluous chromosome, which began to cause more and more complaints.
11. 1972, Munich: "extra" runner
When the audience saw this guy, triumphantly ran into the stadium during the marathon, everyone thought that the winner was running a 42-kilometer distance. In fact, it was a German student who decided to play a trick on the audience of many thousands. He not only did not participate in the marathon, he was not an athlete at all. The real winner, American Frank Shorter, appeared later.
12. 1968, Mexico: body language
The outstanding Czech athlete Vera Chaslavska became a symbol of the national struggle for freedom when, at the award ceremony, she defiantly turned away from the Soviet flag during the execution of the USSR anthem in protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.
13. 1968, Mexico City: the first doping scandal
At this Olympics for the first time in the history of the athlete was disqualified for using dope. Swedish pentathlonist Hans-Gunnar Lillenvall drank beer before the competition, so as not to be nervous. The athlete was deprived of the bronze award after his alcohol was found in his blood.
14. 1968, Mexico City: black salute
During the award ceremony for the 200m winners, American athletes John Carlos and Tommy Smith raised their fists in black gloves and saluted with their heads down to protest racial discrimination. So they stood in their toes without shoes, symbolizing the poverty of the black population. It was a loud political action, after which the athletes were expelled from the team. Australian Peter Norman, runner-up, seems to be only standing on the pedestal, in fact he also took part in the action, wearing the badge of the organization's Olympic project for human rights, which spoke out against racism. Thirty-eight years later, when Norman died, Carlos and Smith carried his coffin.
15. 1972, Munich: there is no advertisement
Strangely enough, but at this Olympics skiing was one of the disciplines among summer sports. Austrian skier Karl Schrange was disqualified for being spotted wearing a T-shirt with a print of coffee advertising at a football match, which was regarded as having sponsorship. That is, Schrantz ceased to be considered an amateur, and according to the rules of the Olympic Charter, acting at that time, professionals were forbidden to participate in the Olympic Games. The incident had a wide resonance and eventually led to reforms in the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
16. 1972, Munich: the loop of Korbut
The Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut for the first time presented this most complicated element, performed on multi-high bars. The gymnast stands on the top bar and makes a roll back, clinging to her hands. This element was able to replicate only Elena Mukhina, who improved it with a screw. Currently, "loop Korbut" is prohibited by the rules of gymnastics, tk. athletes are not allowed to stand on the uneven bars.
17. 1972, Munich: scandalous basketball
The final of the basketball tournament at these Olympic Games is considered the most controversial match since 1936, when the game was included in the Olympics program. Constant favorites - the US team - lost gold to the USSR team. It seems incredible, but the outcome of the match decided 3 seconds. For some reason, the siren sounded 3 seconds earlier, and the stopwatch had to be unscrewed back. In addition, due to technical mistakes, the Soviet team was allowed to enter the ball three times, although it was supposed to be completed after the first or, given the technical problems, the second input. The match ended with the result 51-50, two decisive points for the USSR team brought the ball, scored in the last second. The American team refused to receive a silver medal and did not go to the awards ceremony. Like many international experts, American basketball players still refuse to recognize the results of that scandalous game.
18. 1976, Montreal: the account is higher than the maximum
Romanian gymnast Nadia Komaneci, speaking on the uneven bars, became the first athlete, who received 10 points. It was so unexpected that the judges did not immediately believe their eyes, since it was believed that the account limit set on the scoreboard was 9.99.
19. 1976, Montreal: Boris the Counterfeiter
Soviet pentathlete Boris Onischenko, a multiple prize-winner of world championships, was convicted of fraud. In his sword was mounted a button with which he could at any time close the chain and turn on the light bulb fixing the injection of the injection. And although after replacing the sword, he honestly won several fights in a row, this did not save him from lifelong disqualification and deprivation of all awards.
20. 1980, Moscow: the gesture of "half-arm"
Polish athlete Vladislav Kazakevich, who won gold in pole vaulting, became more famous for his "half-hand" gesture, which he showed to the public who booed him, who was ill for the Soviet athlete Volkov. He even wanted to deprive the medal, but the Polish team convinced the judges that the gesture was not an insult, but was caused by a muscle spasm.
21. 1984, Los Angeles: the fall after the collision
During the race at the 3000-meter distance, an American Mary Decker, claiming a gold medal, fell to the lawn after a collision with South Africa's Ash Buld, who was in favor of the UK, and was unable to complete the race. After a series of mutual accusations it was not clear what really happened. However, a year later, when at the competitions in the UK the American won gold at this distance, she was able to shake Budd's hand and admit that the reason for her fall at the Olympics was that it was unusual for her to run among a large number of participants.
22. 1984, Los Angeles: The Twins' Trick
Puerto Rican athlete Madeleine de Jesus after an unsuccessful landing in a long jump decided to make a substitution and send her twin sister to run the relay 4 to 400 meters in the qualifying round for herself. No one suspected anything and in the team classification the team had good chances. However, the coach of the national team turned out to be a crystal clear man and withdrew the team from the finals as soon as he learned about the substitution.
23. 1988, Seoul: gold, despite injury
This picture clearly shows how Greg Luganis, an outstanding American sportsman, strikes his head against a springboard during a coup. Despite the fact that he heavily broke his head in the blood and with difficulty completed the jump, the next day he won a confident victory and won his third gold medal, ahead of his nearest opponent by 26 points.
24. 1988, Seoul: a hundred-dollar doping
For the first time since 1928, winning a hundred-meter mark for the Canadian national team, Ben Johnson was stripped of gold three days later, when it was discovered that steroids had been found in his blood. As his coach later claimed, almost all athletes at that time used steroids, and Johnson was just one of many who got caught.
25. 1988, Seoul: unfair judging
When in the final match between American boxer Roy Jones and South Korean Pak Sihun victory was awarded to the latter, it was a shock for everyone, including the winner himself. Jones defeated in all three rounds (unlike the professionals fighting 12 rounds, the lovers only 3), in the second round, the Korean even had to count down the "standing" knockdown. In each of the rounds, except for the first, Jones made more accurate punches than Sihun for the whole fight. This fight is still considered one of the most unfair in the history of boxing, largely thanks to him in the amateur box was introduced a new system of scoring.
26. 2000, Sydney: A dangerous base jump
Australian gymnast Alanna Slater expressed the opinion that the projectile for the base jump was set too low, and when it was measured, it turned out that it was five centimeters below the required level. Five athletes were allowed to speak again, but how many gymnasts flew out of the competition until the projectile was set to the desired height.
27. 2000, Sydney: the cunning nurofen
When the Romanian gymnast Andrea Radukan during the Games picked up a cold, the national team doctor gave her nurofen - a well-known antipyretic, which without a prescription can be bought at any pharmacy. The doctor did not check that the composition of this drug includes pseudoephedrine, included by the IOC in the list of prohibited drugs. As a result, the sportswoman was deprived of gold in her personal all-around. However, the Olympic Committee took into account that the incident was a consequence of the negligence of the doctor, so the remaining two medals, the second gold and silver, left the gymnast.
28. 2004, Athens: an unsuccessful marathon
Having run a large part of the marathon race, British Paula Radcliffe, who has staged a world record not yet beaten at this distance in 2002, fell and could not rise, which caused a great public response. The press accused the athlete that she did not even try to continue the race; arguing about the reasons, assumed that she wanted to win by all means, but, realizing that she was inferior to Japanese Mizuki Noguchi, she preferred to stop the match, etc. In the end, public opinion leaned on Radcliffe's side, and the press was accused of having treated the runner too harshly only because she was a woman.
29. 2008, Beijing: the disputed age
He Kexin, a Chinese gymnast who won two gold medals, with two more of her compatriots became the object of a scandal associated with biological age. Although Kesin was 16 years old at the time of the Games, her appearance did not quite match that age - she looked much younger, and there were also certain doubts about the authenticity of the documents that confirmed her age. IOC even initiated an investigation with a request for family photos and additional papers, but nothing more could be found out, and the scandal was hushed up.
30. 2008, Beijing: Attack on the Judge
During the third round of the fight for third place, Cuban Taekwondoist Angel Matos was injured and asked for a timeout. When, after an allowed minute, he did not resume the fight, a victory by the rules was awarded to his rival. The enraged Cuban pushed a side judge and kicked the face of the referee. For such unsportsmanlike conduct, the athlete and his coach were disqualified for life.
31. 2012, London: an hour before the defeat
In the semi-final fencing match on swords, South Korean athlete Shin A Lam was one point ahead of the German woman Britta Heidemann, when the failure in the stopwatch gave the German swordsman a second advantage, and that was enough for her to inflict a few decisive jabs on her opponent. The victory was awarded to the German. Lam burst into tears and demanded a review of the results. Since according to the rules of fencing, if the athlete leaves the path, he acknowledges defeat, Lam for an hour, while the judges conferred, remained on the dais. However, in the end, the judges counted her defeat.
32. 2012, London: Too Many Americans
According to the results of the qualifying round, the American gymnast Jordin Weber was the fourth in the individual classification, but it did not reach the final. According to the rules of the Olympic Games, one country can not nominate more than two athletes for a competition in the absolute superiority. Since the second and third place was also taken by the Americans, Weber was not allowed to the finals, and the athletes from other countries got the upper hand, although they scored less points.
33. 2016, Rio de Janeiro: the loudest doping scandal
The loudest scandal of the current Olympics was the removal of a third of the Russian national team from participating in the Games in connection with an investigation conducted by the World Anti-Doping Agency. During the investigation it was found out that during the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 in Russia there was a state doping program with the participation of special services, based on the substitution of doping samples of Russian athletes. Back in July, it was unclear whether the Russian team would be allowed to participate in the Olympics at all, but then the IOC softened its position and it was decided to consider the candidature of each athlete individually. As a result, instead of 387 athletes in the Rio were allowed to send 279.
In addition, in September 2015, mildonia - a cardioprotector, increasing endurance and improving recovery after overloads - was introduced into the list of prohibited preparations. Invented in the USSR forty years ago, the drug was popular mainly among Russian athletes. After January 1, 2016, when the ban entered into force, positive samples were found among dozens of athletes, most of whom were from Russia, which served as some official reason to argue that the scandal with meldon is of a political nature.