Despite the fact that the basic provisions of the Olympics are peace, friendship and mutual understanding, the competition in the competition unfolds with a vengeance. And some athletes are ready to literally gnaw out a medal with a scandal. And there are a lot of such warriors.
One of the most scandalous Olympics in history is the one that took place in 1912. A listing of all the violations and squabbles that were recorded on it fit in a separate book of 56 pages. One of the most notorious scandals at that Olympics involved an American athlete. He was an Indian by birth. At the competition, he immediately received 2 gold medals and became the leader of those Games. However, the US leadership was unhappy with the fact that the first place was taken by a representative of the tribe, with whom the Americans had irreconcilable differences. And America independently demanded to deprive the champion of the medals (despite the fact that it was the USA that got these awards), citing the fact that he is a professional athlete and cannot take part in the Amateur Games. After that, the medals were taken away, and the champion's career was broken.
At the 1904 games in the United States, there was a scandal with marathon runners. It was this discipline that was one of the most promising at that time. The first to come to the finish line was American Fred Lorz, who significantly overtook his rivals. Later, the secret of his agility was revealed. After running about a third of the track, he stopped. The reason was simple - his legs cramped. However, here the athlete turned up one of the fans, who accompanied his idols in a car along the highway passing nearby. He invited the lagging marathon runner to give him a lift. So they reached almost to the finish line. But when Fred Lorz got out of the car to run on, the audience saw it in the stands. So the deception was revealed. After that, the medal was handed over to the second athlete who came to the finish line. However, it turned out that not everything was so smooth with his race. Literally at the end of the track, he felt bad, and his coach gave an anesthetic injection, which would now be regarded as doping.
Hitler's dictatorship left its mark on the 1936 Olympics. Then the contender for the gold in the race from Switzerland was removed from the competition. The reason is quite typical for that time and the policy of the Fuhrer - the athlete was married to a Jewess.
In 1972, at the Olympic Games, a controversy arose between the US and USSR national basketball teams. The referees broke the rules and sounded the siren, indicating the end of the meeting, 3 seconds before the end of the official time. As a result, Team America won. However, it was this violation that was the reason for challenging the results. The last half had to be replayed. In extra time, the USSR national team was able to perform the required throw and became the winner. The Americans lost then for the first time. Because of this, they boycotted the awards ceremony.
A number of athletes who won the Olympics of Judges' Errors can also be called scandalous champions. It took place in 1932 in Los Angeles. Here, almost every competition was disrupted due to the incorrect work of the judges and referees. So, for example, the athlete who ran 2 meters less than the one who finished second won in the 200-meter race. This was attributed to the technical imperfections of the tracks.
The first doping scandal unfolded in 1988 in Seoul. Then the Canadian athlete-runner finished the distance with an unexpectedly high result - 9.79 seconds. Naturally, he received a gold medal. However, two days later, he was deprived of her due to the fact that the use of doping by the champion was established.
The Salt Lake City Olympics are also rich in scandals. Russian fans happily celebrated the first place in sports figure skating by Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze. However, the American side did not like this alignment, because the Canadians were their favorites. There was talk that the Russians had bribed the judges, as a result of which they received a prize. To avoid further gossip, an unprecedented decision was made, and two couples - Russians and Canadians - went to the awards ceremony for the gold medals.
Solo athlete Irina Slutskaya also had problems getting a medal. The judges considered that the program of the American Sarah Hughes was better than that of the Russian. However, according to international observers, this was not at all the case. But the judges remained adamant - as a result, Slutskaya took second place.
Another trouble at the same Olympics happened with the Russian skier Larisa Lazutina. At that moment, when she was already one step away from the gold medal, she was disqualified, explaining that the athlete, according to the test results, was taking illegal drugs.
