10 Scandals That Rocked the Summer Olympics

The 2024 Summer Olympics will be held in Paris from July 26 to August 11. It will be the third time the French capital has hosted the international event: the City of Love was home to the second-ever modern Games in 1900, and welcomed Olympic athletes again in 1924.

The Summer Olympics were first held in their modern form in Athens in 1896 after being revived from the Ancient Greek legend of the Olympiad. Though the Games are meant to foster a sense of unity among nations, they’ve seen their fair share of scandal—and even tragedy—over the years. Here are 10 of the biggest controversies in the history of the Summer Olympics.

Marathon Runner Disqualified For Using a Carriage // 1896 Summer Olympics, Athens

The marathon is one of the most iconic Olympic events, alluding to the myth of the messenger Pheidippides’s legendary long-distance run. It was a key event when the Summer Games kicked off in 1896.

Unfortunately, the first ever modern Olympic marathon was marred with controversy when it emerged that bronze medallist Spyridon Belokas had broken the rules by not running the entire distance. He had actually used a carriage for part of the way, causing him to be disqualified.

Nazi Germany Hosts Games // 1936 Summer Olympics, Berlin

In 1932, Berlin, Germany, won the bid to host the 1936 Summer Olympics. But the country’s political situation took an alarming turn during the four years after Berlin was awarded host of the Games of the XI Olympiad. Hitler and the Nazis were in power by 1936: They had already introduced antisemitic laws and were exploiting the Games to promote their sinister ideologies and propaganda.

A movement grew to boycott the whole event. In the United States, the Amateur Athletic Union rejected a motion to skip the Games, and the American Olympic Committee still encouraged athletes to attend. The success of Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals, served as a powerful symbol of resistance to Nazi propaganda; the track and field star became one of the most iconic figures in Olympic history.

The “Blood in the Water” Water Polo Match // 1956 Summer Olympics, Melbourne 

When Hungary faced the Soviet Union in the final water polo match of the 1956 Summer Games, it was about more than just sports. The competition took place just weeks after the USSR killed hundreds and injured thousands while cracking down on an anti-Soviet movement in Hungary’s capital. 

Things got physical—as in, there was quite a bit of kicking and punching—on both sides during the water polo match. Hungary took the lead, but in the last few minutes one of the Russian players, Valentin Prokopov, hit one of the Hungarian players, Ervin Zador, in the eye. Zador’s eye gushed with blood. Hungary won, and as the players emerged from the water, the public and the press saw the blood on Zador’s face, causing the event to become known as the “blood in the water” match. 

Israeli Athletes Held Hostage and Murdered // 1972 Summer Olympics, Munich

The 1972 Games in Munich saw one of the darkest events in Olympic history. Members of the militant group Black September broke into the Olympic village, killing two Israeli athletes and taking nine others hostage. A final confrontation between the terrorists and the police attempting to rescue the kidnapped athletes tragically resulted in the deaths of all the hostages and one West German policeman. Five militants were killed, too.

The Cold War Boycotts // 1980 Summer Olympics, Moscow and 1984 Summer Olympics, Los Angeles

The Olympics have often become embroiled in the politics of the time. Many countries have skipped the Games in protest over the decades, though the two largest boycotts occurred at the 1980 Moscow Games and the 1984 Los Angeles Games. 

In 1980, more than 60 countries, including the U.S., boycotted the Moscow Games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Americans were warned they would lose their passports if they attempted to compete as Independent Olympic Athletes.

Four years later, the USSR and the countries that were part of what was then known as the Eastern Bloc, as well as Cuba, abstained from the Los Angeles Games in return.

Ben Johnson’s 100m World Record—and Failed Drug Test // 1988 Summer Olympics, Seoul

Doping scandals have unfortunately taken place at a number of Games. One of the most famous occurred in 1988, when Canadian athlete Ben Johnson failed a drug test after breaking the world record for the 100m. It was one of the event’s most high-profile races. As the Guardian described it, “It is the first time that a man of Johnson's stature has been caught cheating in this manner and the Olympic world was this morning still trying to absorb the shock.”

The Atlanta Bombing // 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta

Tragedy struck the 1996 Atlanta Games when a bomb went off during a rock concert at the Centennial Olympic Park, killing two people and injuring many more. It didn’t stop the Summer Olympics—though security was significantly increased. 

There was further controversy when the security guard who found the bomb was incorrectly identified as a suspect before eventually being cleared. The bomber, a man named Eric Randolph, went on the run—and proceeded to bomb three other places—before disappearing into North Carolina’s Nantahala National Forest. He spent years on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list until a rookie cop arrested him for scavenging in a dumpster in 2003. 

A Former Priest Attacks a Marathon Runner // 2004 Summer Olympics, Athens 

As with the first modern Olympics—also held in Athens—the marathon would again be a site of controversy in 2004. Vanderlei de Lima, a Brazilian athlete, was leading the race when a man suddenly darted onto the road and attacked him around the 22-mile mark. This caused de Lima to lose his lead; within a mile, another runner overtook him. De Lima eventually finished in third place, taking the bronze and not the gold that had seemed likely before the attack. The International Olympic Committee later awarded him the Pierre de Coubertin medal to honor his “exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values.”

The attacker was revealed to be Neil Horan, a former priest from Ireland, who had previously disrupted another sport when he ran onto the track at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone in 2003. 

The “Lochtegate” False Robbery Claims // 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro

The 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro saw what became known as Lochtegate, an incident involving four American swimmers: Ryan Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and James Feigen. The swimmers claimed they had been robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in Rio; however, the police said both witnesses and video footage contradicted their account. They also reported the swimmers had damaged the station’s restroom before being confronted by armed security guards.

Lochte eventually admitted he had exaggerated and fabricated elements of the story, including his claim that someone held a gun to his head. He was subsequently suspended by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and USA Swimming for 10 months; the other swimmers were suspended for four months. 

The Attempted Repatriation of Krystsina Tsimanouskaya // 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo 

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo were postponed until the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19. But a dangerous pandemic wouldn’t be the only issue to plague the Games.

Belarus authorities attempted to forcibly remove the sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya after she criticized her team’s coaches on social media. She reported that members of the country’s coaching staff then took her to the airport and tried to force her to leave Japan and return to Belarus. After several European countries offered Tsimanouskaya asylum, she chose to settle in Poland, where she became a citizen in 2022.

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