Olympic Scandals That Shook the Sports World

For many medal winners, the Olympics bring back memories of victory and glory.

But for some athletes, the competition can evoke flashbacks of headline-making scandals.

Viewers of the 1994 Olympics, for instance, will surely remember how Nancy Kerrigan was clubbed at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship shortly before the Games. While she went on to win silver in Lillehammer, Tonya Harding—whose ex-husband Jeff Gillooly served time in prison for his role in the attack along with bodyguard Shawn Eckardt, hitman Shane Stant and driver Derrick Smith—was banned from the U.S. Figure Skating Association for live after she pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution.

Then there was the time U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte admitted to overexaggerating about a gas station incident—later dubbed Lochtegate—in Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympics, resulting in him being banned from national and international competition for 10 months.

“I want to apologize for my behavior last weekend,” the 12-time medalist wrote in part of a 2016 statement on Instagram, “for not being more careful and candid in how I described the events of that early morning and for my role in taking the focus away from the many athletes fulfilling their dreams of participating in the Olympics.”

But these aren’t the only shocking moments fans may recall. There was also Russia’s ban from the 2018 Winter Games after being accused of a doping scandal, the judging controversy following Jamie Sale and David Pelletier's skate and many more.

To look back at more Olympic moments that had people talking, keep reading.

Fans were outraged after runner Sha'Carri Richardson was banned from the U.S. Olympic team in 2021 for testing positive for marijuana, which she said she smoked after the recent death of her mother. The fan-favorite runner had initially secured her spot for the Games when she won the women's 100-meter dash in Eugene, Oregon.

Richardson's violation via the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code was controversial as she legally smoked weed, which many fans argued is not a performance-enhancing drug, in Oregon.

Fast-forward just a few years later, the sprinter is getting another shot at the gold. Richardson qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics as the fastest woman in the world.

Larry Nassar is serving time in prison for sexual abuse.

A judge in Michigan’s Eaton County sentenced the former USA Gymnastics doctor to 40 to 125 years behind bars in 2018 after he pleaded guilty to three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree. Earlier that year, Nassar was sentenced by a judge in Ingham County Circuit Court to 40 to 175 years in prison for seven counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the first-degree. In addition, the former Michigan State University doctor was sentenced in 2017 to 60 years in prison for child pornography and obstruction of justice offenses.

Aly Raisman, McKayla Maroney and Simone Biles were among the Olympians to come forward about Nassar.  

In 2016, Ryan Lochte claimed he and fellow Team USA swimmers Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen were robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in Brazil during the Rio Games. He was admittedly intoxicated at the time, as he'd been celebrating their win.

After returning to the Olympic Village, Lochte told the story to his mom, who later told a reporter the swimmer was robbed at gunpoint. Lochte then spoke to the media himself.

"They pulled us over," he told Billy Bush for Today. "They pulled out their guns. They told the other swimmers to get down on the ground—they got down on the ground. I refused. I was like, 'We didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not getting down on the ground.'"

"Then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, 'Go down,'" Lochte continued. "I put my hands up. I was like, 'Whatever.' He took our money. He took my wallet."

The 12-time medalist doubled-down on his story. However, things didn't add up. According to NBC News, police refuted Lochte’s story and said he, Bentz, Conger and Feigen had been approached by gas station security guards who took out their guns and told them to pay for damages the Olympians allegedly caused.

Eventually, Lochte admitted he “overexaggerated” his story—saying that while a gun was drawn it wasn’t at his head. 

“I made a mistake, and I definitely learned from this,” he told Matt Lauer for NBC News. “I’m just really sorry.”

Lochte received a 10-month swimming competition suspension.

A number of competitors opted out of the 2016 Olympics following a Zika virus outbreak in Brazil, which caused widespread concern among athletes, reporters and spectators attending the events. The mosquito-borne disease can cause birth defects and other health concerns, and for several competitors, it just wasn't worth the risk.

Seven of the world's top golfers declined their Olympics opportunities, including Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Jason Day, who tweeted, "Playing golf cannot take precedent over the safety of our family."

Soccer player Hope Solo also said she would "begrudgingly" participate, despite her hesitations. Meanwhile, basketball stars LeBron James and Steph Curry claimed the virus was totally unrelated to their decisions to not participate.

Fans were shocked to learn the Russian tennis superstar was barred from participating in the 2016 Games after testing positive for meldonium.

Sharapova, who competed in the 2012 Olympics, maintained she didn't know the substance was banned and received support from Serena Williams. 

"I think most people were happy she was upfront and very honest," Williams said at a press conference, "and showed a lot of courage to admit to what she had done and what she had neglected to look at in terms of the list at the end of the year."

Brazil ended its slave trade in 1888, but the long-term effects impacted the 2016 Rio de Janiero Games. Developers were accused of constructing the Olympic Park on top of a mass grave of African slaves. As one descendant told reporters at the time, "I regard the ground as sacred because it is where my ancestors were buried." The Rio city government denied any wrongdoing.

In 2016, whistleblower and former head of Russia’s anti-doping lab Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov publicly accused the country of conducting a doping program.

While the World Anti-Doping Agency called for Russia to be banned from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro entirely, the International Olympic Committee instead had each sport’s International Federation determine which of the country’s athletes could compete at the Games.

However, Russia was officially banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Still, the IOC allowed clean, individual athletes to compete under the name Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR), with them carrying the Olympic flag instead of Russia’s. For the 2020 and 2022 Games, they participated under the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) team.

With the suspension of the ROC in 2023, the IOC determined that qualified athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport will compete as Individual Neutral Athletes at the 2024 Paris Games.

The 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics were shrouded in controversy. Many stars joined the fight against Russian President Vladimir Putin's radical homophobic legislation passed in 2013 and boycotted the Winter Games, including Lady Gaga.

"I don't think that we should be going to the Olympics at all," the singer said on Chatty Man, per The Independent. She reportedly added, "I mean, I would never take anything away from [the athlete's] hard work, I just think it is absolutely wrong for so many countries to send money and economy in the way of a country that doesn't support gays."

It's one of the biggest scandals in figure skating history.

Ahead of the 1994 Olympics, Shane Stant clubbed Kerrigan in the knee and then escaped in a car with his uncle Derrick Smith. 

Despite the attack—which was orchestrated by Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckardt—Kerrigan went on to medal at the Games. Meanwhile, Harding, who pleaded guilty to hindering the prosecution, was banned from skating for life.

Again with the figure skating… After Canada's Jamie Sale and David Pelletier's winning pairs routine rated but a silver at the 2002 Games, the judge representing France confessed she'd been ordered to place the Russian team first in a vote-trading scheme. Sale and Pelletier were belatedly named cowinners along with the Russian skaters Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharuledze.

U.S. speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno won his first career gold medal in 2002. While Kim Dong-Sung finished the 1,500-meter race first, the South Korean skater was then disqualified for cross-tracking, resulting in Ohno being declared the winner and starting his path to becoming the most-decorated U.S. Olympian in Winter Games history.

The 1972 Munich Games were marred by tragedy when terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. They then were marked by controversy when the United States lost to the Soviet Union's men's basketball team in the still-debated gold-medal game.

Countries had sat out the games before, but never had a superpower snubbed another superpower the way President Jimmy Carter did when, in protest of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, he pulled Team USA from the Moscow-hosted Olympics in 1980. Four years later, Team USSR returned the favor and led an Eastern Bloc blackout at the Los Angeles Games.

In 2009, a British tabloid published a photo of the U.S. swimmer appearing to inhale from a marijuana pipe. No, the scandal, didn't alter any official results. And, no, the scandal didn't cost Phelps any of his eight Beijing gold medals. Still, Phelps issued an apology.

“I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment,” he said in a statement obtained by The New York Times. “I’m 23 years old and despite the successes I’ve had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again.”

Canada's Ben Johnson shocked the world when he tested positive for steroids, resulting in him being stripped of his gold medal for the men's 100-meter sprint at the 1988 Games.

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