5. Marion Jones – United States
Out of all of the athletes on the list, Marion Jones is definitely one
who took the hardest fall, but it was entirely her fault. She had a
blossoming career that was as successful as ever. Ever since high school
she was racking up titles after her success in track and field. A very
notable success was her win at the 100 m sprint at the CIF California
State Meet; however, even at such a young age, Jones was accused of
doping, though this time she had a great attorney. In 1992 at the age of
17, she was invited to compete in the Olympic trials, but she declined
the invitation to be an alternate. Instead she competed in the IAAF
World Junior Championships in Seoul, but didn’t place. She continued to
compete in high school and then college competitions, earning various
other titles. In 1997 she went to the World Championships in Athens and
was able to score gold in the 100 m sprint. In 1998 at the IAAF World
Cup she won gold in the 100 m and 200 m and silver in the long jump
event. In 1999 she had continued success at the IAAF World Championships
in Spain, earning a gold and silver medal.
The Losing Point
After years of success, Jones’ career would crash suddenly in 2000.
Though she was highly successful at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney,
her past definitely came back to haunt her. Though she was able to get
out of doping before, this time she was unsuccessful. Her husband, CJ
Hunter, a shot putter, admitted to using steroids and confused that
Jones had injected steroids during the 2000 Olympics. Jones continued to
deny the accusations, but through careful look of her past, including
her coaches, she was obviously guilty by association. After failing a
drug test, Jones was forced to give up all of her earned titles from the
2000 Olympics and on. Total, she lost 6 medals. After the doping
scandal, she was found to be involved in even more crime, including
check fraud and perjury. In 2008 she was sentenced to 6 months in jail
for her activities. Today, Jones has not returned to the field.
4. Ara Abrahamian – Sweden
Focusing on Greco-Roman wrestling, Ara Abrahamian was a highly
successful wrestler during his time. He started to wrestle at the young
age of 8 in Armenia. Here was able to earn the title of Armenian junior
champion 3 times. In 1994 he went to Stockholm to compete in the
Stockholm Junior Open. He left the
Armenian team but eventually became part of the team located in Sweden.
He first competed in the Olympic Games in 2000, but was unable to earn a
medal as he placed 6th. However, the next year in 2001 he went to the
European Championships and was able to win second place. His first gold
medal win came in 2001 at the World Championships in Greece. He earned
his last gold medal in the 2002 World Championships in Russia. Before
and after this competition, he only won silver or bronze medals, or
didn’t place at all.
The Losing Point
Unlike many other athletes on the list, Abrahamian wasn’t found to be
doing illegal things. He wasn’t using steroids to enhance his
performance or breaking any other serious offense like most athletes on
the list. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Abrahamian was up against
tough opponents. After the judges finalized their scores, Abrahamian
only came in third. However, he and his coach both disputed the scores
and claimed the judges were being corrupt and unjust. The two called for
a review of the match but this was declined. Come time for the awards
ceremony, Abrahamian attended, but when he was handed his bronze medal,
he shook the hands of the others, stepped off the podium, and placed it
on the wrestling mat. He then chose to leave without his medal. Because
of the incident, the IOC held a conference and decided that Abrahamian
needed to be suspended for violating the spirit of fair play. He and his
coach were to be banned for 2 years, but this was overturned in 2009.
3. Lyudmyla Blonska – Ukraine
Some people just don’t learn the first time and Lyudmyla Blonska is the
perfect example. Born in the Ukraine, Blonska became well known as a
long jumper and a pentathlete. From age 5 to 10, she practiced
gymnastics, then basketball, and then judo and cycle racing. When she
was 14 she was introduced to athletics and since then, never looked
back. At the age of 16, she entered the Ukrainian Youth Championships in
Odessa and competed in the heptathlon event and was able to win a
silver medal. In 1995 she moved to Kiev where she began to really focus
on her athletic career. She eventually went to college and became a
certified teacher of physical culture and trainer. In 2000 she got
married and in 2001 she became a mother.
The Losing Point
After such life-changing events, Blonska decided to get back into her
sport. She was able to win the National Championship in May 2002 and was
then invited to the European Championships in Munich, but she was
unable to place. Despite only coming in 13th, Blonska, soon after the
race, tested positive for steroids, and even though she wanted to appeal
her two year ban, she did not have the money to do so. Before her ban
was over she had another child, but again returned to the sport. At the
2005 Universiade in Turkey, she won gold but didn’t place in the 2006
European Championships. That same year she won the pentathlon event at
the 2006 World Indoor Championships. At the 2007 World Championships in
Osaka, Blonska ran her way to a second place win and then trained to
enter the Beijing Olympics in 2008. At the Olympics, she was able to win
another silver medal in the heptathlon. However, she was found guilty
of doping for the second time. Because this was her second offense, she
was quickly banned and was thrown out of the Games entirely. Today she
is banned, for a lifetime, from any type of competitive athletic sports.
2. Alain Baxter – United Kingdom
Alain Baxter is a very successful and well known skier from Scotland. He
is especially great when it comes to the slalom. Both of his parents
were British Ski Team members, so it seems he definitely took after
their skills. In 1991 at just 16, he was chosen to be on the British
Alpine Ski Team. Despite his young age, he was able to climb the ranks
and make his way up, breaking records and setting his own. Just 7 years
after making the ski team, Baxter was able to rank in the top 100 times
during the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. However, the 2002 Salt Lake City
Olympics proved to be both successful and horrible for Baxter.
The Losing Point
At the Olympics in 2002, Baxter was able to make British history by
becoming the first skier from Britain to earn a medal in alpine skiing.
Despite it being a bronze medal, the country had never placed in this
sport. To show his pride, Baxter spray-painted the flag of Scotland into
his hair, but the Olympic Association out of Britain asked him to
remove it since he was representing the U.K., but the dye was still
visibly seen. After his win, Baxter returned back home to crowds
celebrating his success. After returning home Baxter was notified that
he had failed a drug test and that a small amount of methamphetamine was
found. The IOC of course disqualified him from the sport and had him
return his medal, which was eventually returned to him by Raich, the
original 4th place winner.
Baxter did state that he used a Vicks inhaler in the U.S. to use and he
was unaware that the ones made in the U.S. had different ingredients.
The IOC accepted his explanation and only banned him for 3 months. Since
the controversy Baxter has returned to the sport, but has yet to break
his Salt Lake City record.
1. Jim Thorpe – United States
During his time, Jim Thorpe was said to be one of the best athletes. He
seemed to be all-around good at anything and everything he played. When
Thorpe participated in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden he
participated in the pentathlon and the decathlon. Both were relatively
new sports but he was entirely fitted for them. He also participated in
the long jump and high jump. Despite being new to the sport, Thorpe
earned a gold medal in the pentathlon and then the same day went on to
quality for the long and high jumps, but did not earn a medal in these
competitions. His last event was the decathlon and here he won gold as
well. He even received to challenge prizes from Kings Gustav V of Sweden
and Nicholas II of Russia.
The Losing Point
However, despite his obvious success, Thorpe wouldn’t be keeping his
medals. During 1913, there were rules set that said those who were
sports teachers, once competed against professionals, or received money
prizes for competitions were not amateurs, therefore not allowed to
compete. Somehow news came out that Thorpe had played professional
baseball, making his wins disqualifiable. Thorpe did in fact play
professional ball for the Eastern Carolina League in 1909-1910 and made
very little money, probably about $47 a game in today’s dollar terms.
But, it’s been proven that Thorpe wasn’t the only one to play
professionally; many of the athletes did, they just used aliases.
In the end Thorpe’s medals were taken away, despite the fact that the
IOC did not obey their own rules, which stated complaints had to be made
within 30 days of the ending Olympic ceremony. Thorpe wasn’t brought up
until 6 months after. Thorpe died without his medals, but in 1982, the
IOC gave his 2 children commemorative medals, as the originals were
stolen and have yet to be found.
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