Biggest Olympic Games scandals – from ‘marathon sex session’ to injured star who sent identical TWIN to compete
SEX marathons, twin trickery and a very painful match for one poor ref… the Olympic Games have never been short of scandal.
Even before this year’s competition officially began, Team GB’s plans were thrown into chaos after British equestrian Charlotte Dujardin was forced to withdraw.
Earlier this week, she was slapped with a six-month ban following the release of a video of her cruelly whipping a horse at least 25 times in one minute.
The FEI, which governs the sport, has launched an investigation and released a statement explaining what the ban means for the disgraced athlete.
It said: “During this period of suspension, she is prohibited from participating in any activities related to competitions or events under the jurisdiction of the FEI or any competition or event under the jurisdiction of a National Federation (NF).”
In her own statement, Dujardin said that she had made an “error of judgement during a coaching session”.
She also claimed that what was seen in the footage was “out of character” and “does not reflect” how she trains her horses or pupils.
It has dashed her hopes of adding more Olympic medals to her tally, which currently sits at six and includes gold medals.
Her controversy joins many scandals that have previously cast a huge shadow over the Olympics. Here, we revisit some of the biggest and most shocking.
Sex marathon
During the Rio Olympics in 2016, Ingrid Oliveira was plunged quickly into scandal when her synchronised diving partner made a damning claim against her.
Giovanna Pedroso claimed she had been kicked out of the hotel room they were sharing – so Ingrid could have sex with canoeist Pedro Goncalves.
According to reports, Ingrid, then aged 20, and Pedro engaged in “marathon sex sessions” the night before she was due to compete with Giovanna, then aged 17.
Perhaps predictably, they finished last in the 10m platform. Their performance was heavily panned by local media and labelled “pathetic”.
Giovanna later ranted: “I have been waiting for four years to be present at the Olympics and for her it was better to have fun and therefore threw me out of the room.”
Years later, Ingrid opened up about the incident and denied that she had kicked her teammate out of the room.
She also insisted that she was not the only athlete who had sex during top-level competitions and that she had even received gross offers to appear in pornography from fans.
She added: “He didn’t spend the night with me and I didn’t banish anyone from the room.
“People don’t know, but in the Olympics it’s normal.
“You should have seen the number of condoms that were distributed in the Olympic Village. They were everywhere including the canteen and they weren’t there for people to make balloons.”
In it to twin it
While competing for Puerto Rico in the long jump at the Los Angeles Games in 1986, Madeline de Jesus injured her hamstrings, preventing her from going further.
She had been scheduled to compete again in the 4×400 relay and was determined not to miss out.
So, astonishingly, she hatched a plan to get her twin sister Margaret to step in as an imposter for a qualifying heat.
It worked – Margaret ran the second leg of the qualifier, and the team advanced.
But it all came crashing down when Freddie Vargas, the chief coach of Puerto Rico, caught wind of their deception and pulled the team out of the competition.
Two months afterwards, Madeline and her sister, who was also an athlete, were banned from participating in future events. The other relay members were suspended for a year.
Courting controversy
It was a joyous occasion in Spain when the country learned that its intellectual disability basketball team had won gold at the Sydney Paralympic Games.
But their celebration quickly turned to anger when it was discovered that only two of the 12 players were actually disabled.
It all came to a head after Carlos Ribagorda, a team member, confessed. He claimed he had never been given an intelligence test to determine whether he qualified to play.
He also claimed that during their game with China, their coach told them to “move down a gear” so their deception would not be detected.
Fernando Martin Vicente, the former head of the Spanish Federation for Mentally Handicapped Sports, was found guilty of fraud in 2013.
He was fined £4,600 and ordered to repay £120,500 in government subsidies that the federation had received.
Fake robbery
Ryan Lochte‘s fall from grace during the Rio Olympics was nothing short of astounding.
It all started when the swimmer, along with others from Team USA, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feign, went out to celebrate the final session of the eight-day swimming competition.
Travelling by taxi, they asked the driver to pull up at a fuel station. According to Ryan, this was when the group were attacked by armed men he believed to be police officers.
He also claimed that one pointed a gun to his head and took money from his wallet.
However, there were many inconsistencies in his story and CCTV footage also painted a completely different picture.
It showed that the swimmers had actually vandalised the property and urinated on the grounds. Armed guards protecting the facility demanded payment for the damage.
After his lies were uncovered, Ryan admitted that he had exaggerated what had happened. As a result, he was suspended for 10 months and lost several sponsorship deals.
Charlotte Dujardin's statement
“A video has emerged from four years ago which shows me making an error of judgement during a coaching session.
“Understandably, the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI) is investigating.
“And I have made the decision to withdraw from all competition – including the Paris Olympics – while this process takes place.
“What happened was completely out of character and does not reflect how I train my horses or coach my pupils, however there is no excuse.
“I am deeply ashamed and should have set a better example in that moment.
“I am sincerely sorry for my actions and devastated that I have let everyone down, including Team GB, fans and sponsors.
“I will cooperate fully with the FEI, British Equestrian Federation and British Dressage during their investigations, and will not be commenting further until the process is complete.”
Shocking kick
During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Cuban taekwondo athlete Angel Matos faced Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov.
Angel was granted a one-minute timeout after sustaining an injury in the second round. But when he had not resumed after the time had elapsed, Chakir Chelbet, the Swedish referee, disqualified him.
Furious with his decision, Angel approached the referee and kicked him in the face, knocking him to the ground. He also pushed and argued with other officials before being escorted out.
His actions were widely condemned, and the World Taekwondo Federation banned him and his coach for life from all sanctioned events.
Greatest cheat
Boris Onishchenko’s unenviable nickname of “Boris the Cheat” was very rightfully earned.
The athlete, from the Soviet Union, was dominating the world of pentathlon and was even crowned world individual champion in 1971 before his teammate Pavel Lednev came along and won it for three consecutive years.
Although he tried to reclaim his past glory, nothing seemed to work. In 1976, realising he was running out of time at 38, he hatched a cunning plan to win gold at the Olympics in Montreal.
He rigged his fencing sword with a special button, allowing him to register a hit on the electronic scoring system without touching his opponent.
In fact, many of the hits registered happened while his sword was still in mid-air. His opponents were left confused as they were sure they had not been hit at all.
Eventually, his sword was examined and found to be wired with a circuit breaker that allowed him to register a hit as and when he pleased. He was disqualified from the Games and sent home.
He retreated to the quiet life, working as a taxi driver in Kyiv. He later competed in some Soviet national events.
Age old problem
After a commendable performance at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, China‘s women’s gymnastics team took home the bronze medal.
However, when it was discovered that they had broken the rules, their award was revoked and given to the US.
The team falsified Dong Fangxiao’s age. She was just 14 when she competed, but the appropriate age to compete in the Olympics is 16. This rule was introduced in 1997 to protect young Olympians.
China was also made to pay for the inquiry that discovered that her age had been falsified.
Doping Russians
The Russian doping scandal came to a head during the Rio Games in 2016.
It was uncovered that Russian athletes had been systematically using performance-enhancement drugs. It was also alleged that Russian sports officials and intelligence agencies had been involved in a cover-up.
An investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency revealed that positive drug tests were being swapped with clean samples.
The International Olympic Committee issued several sanctions on Russia, including a ban on the Russian flag and the country’s national anthem at the Games.
Athletes were also banned from competing for Russia.
Gold collectors
After World War II, the Allies divided Germany into two parts – East and West.
Between 1964 and 1988, the East German Olympic teams took home a mind-blowing 203 gold, 192 silver, and 177 bronze medals.
However, it emerged the former state had doped around 9,000 athletes to give them an edge over their competition. Doctors and coaches were all involved in the elaborate scheme.
Athletes as young as ten were told they were being given vitamins. When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, several athletes came forward with their stories of doping.
Over 1,000 athletes suffered lasting physical and psychological damage as a result of the doping, which included infertility and kidney damage.
An investigation into the doping scandal was opened in the early 1990s. While 1,000 athletes were invited to give testimonies, only 300 came forward.
