In wake of Maria Sharapova’s admission to taking a banned substance before this year’s Australian Open, I thought it would be a good time to look back on similar doping scandals that shook the world. So, in no particular order, here’s my top five all-time doping scandals:
East German Women’s Swim Team
The rise of East Germany as a sporting powerhouse was rampant in the 1970s. Still divided by the Berlin Wall and under the cloud of the USSR, life was miserable for the Eastern Bloc state. Ignored and forgotten by the rest of the world, it turned to sport in order to gain attention and recognition. The women’s swim team had struggled in the 1964, ‘68, and ’72 Olympics, only winning a combined 11 medals. Yet in the 1976 Montreal Olympics that all changed, as they won 18 medals, including 11 gold. This shocked the sporting world, especially the Americans, who had expected to dominate the pool once again, but ended up second best. This East German dominance continued right up until the reunification of Germany in the early 1990s, where documents were then released that showed East German athletes had been given hormones and steroids in a government program to improve performance at the Olympics. This scandal is one of the key reasons why drug testing in sport was introduced.
The Dirtiest Race - Ben Johnson vs Carl Lewis
Another Olympic fiasco, this time in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The mens 100m final was the pinnacle of the Olympics (much like it still is today) and there was great excitement leading into the race at Seoul. Hyped as the greatest race in history, eyes were focused on the best all-around athlete since Jesse Owens in Carl Lewis, up against his muscular, fierce-eyed Canadian arch rival Ben Johnson. The race didn’t disappoint. Johnson exploded out of the blocks with Lewis close behind. Even as Lewis tried to fight back in the latter half of the race, Johnson held him off, breaking the world record in the process, running a then-rapid 9.79 seconds. But the world crashed all around him three days later when he failed the subsequent drug test. Johnson admitted to taking steroids for most of his career, although argued that he was not alone. His pleas fell on deaf ears and Lewis was handed the gold. The tale doesn’t end there however. In 2003, it was discovered that Lewis failed a drugs test at the US Olympic Trials and should never have been in the infamous race in the first place.
The MLB Steroid Era
During the early 1990s interest in Major League Baseball was waning. Two shortened seasons in 1994 and 1995 due to strikes saw attendance numbers drop 10 percent across the league. Many believed that this was the beginning of the end for the MLB and that it was only a matter of time before it was disbanded altogether. During this decline there was one trend that begun seemingly from out of nowhere, as more and more hitters began to hit over forty home runs in a single season. This led to what is commonly known as the greatest ever season in MLB history in 1998 as hitters Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa raced to the 37-year-old 61 home run record held by Roger Paris. McGuire would win the race, finishing with 70 home runs to Sosa’s 66. This season alone saw revenue jump rapidly from $1.4 billion in 1995 to $2.5 billion in 1998. Three years later Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants broke McGwire’s record, clocking up a remarkable 73 home runs. However, allegations of steroid abuse ensued including the BALCO scandal and the Mitchell Report, while former player Jose Canseco said that around 80 percent of the league were using steroids during this period including himself. Mandatory drug testing was implemented in 2003 following these allegations. McGwire has since admitted his steroid use during his record breaking 1998 season, while Bonds remained under suspicion for the remainder of his career. This period in MLB history is now forever known as the ‘Steroid Era’.
Lance Armstrong
For years seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong denied allegations of substance abuse, until he finally came clean (no pun intended) in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey. This admission followed an intense investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) which banned Armstrong from the sport of cycling and saw all seven of his Tour de France medals stripped from him. After USADA’s report came out, the International Cycling Union president Pat McQuaid stated “Armstrong has no place in cycling. He deserves to be forgotten.” In his interview with Oprah, Armstrong admitted to have started getting blood transfusions and abusing the substance EPO and steroids since 1996. Armstrong was not alone in substance abuse, as several of Armstrong’s teammates had either failed drug tests (such as Floyd Landis following his 2006 Tour de France win) or admitted substance abuse post-retirement. In fact, the majority of cyclists have used some kind of performance enhancing drug, with 14 of the last 25 Tour de France winners either testing positive or confessing to doping.
Marion Jones
The female equivalent of Carl Lewis became an overnight sensation at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, where she became the first woman to win five medals (including three gold) at a single games. While Jones was embracing her success, her husband C.J. Hunter, an Olympic shot-putter, had failed numerous drug tests in the lead up to the Sydney Olympics and was banned from the games. Their two differing paths saw their divorce in 2002, and Jones started dating sprinter Tim Montgomery, together having a son in 2003. Less than a year later the infamous BALCO scandal took place, linking both Jones and Montgomery to performance-enhancing drugs. Montgomery was found guilty and banned for four years, while Jones continuously denied any involvement when brought to a federal court. Despite her claims, more and more evidence of her PED use began to emerge until eventually in 2007 she admitted to taking steroids before and after the Sydney Olympics. All of her results during and after the games were disqualified, while she also served a six month prison sentence for lying to US investigators.
So there you have it, the five doping scandals that shook the sporting world. As these cases show, it can often take years for the full story to completely unravel. Maria Sharapova’s announcement last week is most likely going to be the first step to something much larger. Is there consistent doping within tennis? Did Sharapova actually have any health problems related to the banned meldonium? Or is this just an honest mistake? We will only find out in time, but if the past has any leasson to teach, an “honest mistake” is usually not entirely true.