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Period: to
The Modern Olympic Era
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Fred Lorz - Marathon
• Won the marathon after hitching a ride in his trainer’s car (approx. 17.7km out of 42.195km)
• Eventually admitted to cheating
• Was stripped of his gold medal and banned from the sport for life -
Jim Thorpe - Pentathlon & Decathlon
• Stripped of his gold medals (in both events) after it was discovered he played minor league baseball (in 1912 professional sportsmen were not allowed to compete at the Olympics)
• In 1983, it became official that he had won the medals (30 years after his death) -
Stella Walsh - Running
• After being beaten by her bitter rival her fans demanded the rival be examined for being a man, which proved she was a woman
• During an autopsy of Walsh it was found that she was a man -
Nazi Involvement at Berlin Olympics
• Hitler was intending to use the Olympics as a form of propaganda to promote white supremacy
• Many black people, notably Jesse Owens, excelled causing them to be snubbed by the games host -
Russia vs Hungary – Water Polo
• Tensions between the two countries made its way into the pool as a brawl erupted, resulting in many bloody injuries -
Black Power Salute
• In response to current social trends and tensions, Tommie Smith & John Carlos raised gloved hands in salute whilst on the podium -
Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall – Pentathlon
• Stripped of his bronze medal for having a couple of beers to calm his nerves before the pistol shooting -
Munich Olympics Massacre
• Terrorists entered the Olympic Village killing two people and holding nine hostage
• Before the terror was over more people were killed, bringing the total to 21 people -
US vs USSR Basketball final
• A series of errors regarding the clock and time-outs meant that the USSR were able to score a goal in the final three seconds of the game and secure the win 51-50 (had the mistakes not been made the US would have won)
• The US team never claimed their silver medals -
Borys Onyshchenko – Fencing
• Cheated by altering the ‘hit counter’ in his sword so that it would register that he had hit his opponent even when he hadn’t -
Wladyslaw Kozakiewicz – Pole Vault
• Made an obscene gesture aimed at officials who were trying to sabotage his jump by opening and closing doors to the stadium in an effort to change wind conditions -
Ben Johnson – Running
• Stripped of his gold and two bronze medals after testing positive for steroids -
Park Si-Hun vs Roy Jones Jr – Boxing
• Hun won the bout after the judges voted in his favour 3-2. However, Jones had scored more 86-32
• The three judges who voted for Hun were eventually banned for two years
• Hun still holds the gold -
Tonya Harding & Nancy Kerrigan – Ice Skating
• Kerrigan was clubbed in the knee by someone hired by Harding’s ex-husband, keeping her from the US Championships
• Harding knew of the attack in advance
• Kerrigan recovered in time to go to the Olympics, where she got silver. Harding came 10th -
Centennial Park Bombings, Atlanta
• A bombing in Centennial Olympic Park led to the death of one person and injuries to 111 others
• A security guard was accused of the bombing but later exonerated -
Marion Jones – Running
• Was stripped of her medals after it became known she took performance enhancing drugs -
Dong Fangxiao – Gymnastics
• Competed when she was 14 years old when the minimum age is 16 years old and was deemed ineligible
• She is not the only Chinese girl to fall under scrutiny for this -
Flag Fiasco, London – Soccer
• As North Korea ran onto the pitch, they were introduced alongside the South Korean flag -
Shin A Lam – Fencing
• An issue with the clock meant that Shin was defeated and missed out on the gold medal fight
• Following fencing custom Shin had to remain in the arena whilst an appeal was held
• Shin lost the appeal and due to the timetable fought almost immediately for bronze, and lost
