Doping in Olympics: Russia's omission from Tokyo 2020; top doping scandals

Doping in Olympics: Ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Russia was banned from participating in the event after being handed over a two-year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

Doping in Olympics: Olympics are known for the spirit of sports and it is every sportsperson's dream to clinch a medal at the Games. However, the marquee event has also been marred by controversies around doping as some athletes have been found to be using performance-enhancing drugs to have an edge at the Games.

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Ahead of the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, Russia was banned from participating in the event after being handed over a two-year ban by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Why Russia was banned from Tokyo Olympics?

Russia has bagged 149 gold, 125 silver, and 152 bronze medals in the Olympics so far. In 2019, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) was accused by WADA of manipulating drug-testing data. Subsequently, evidence of systematic mass doping among Russian athletes was found which led to a four-year ban which the Court of Arbitration for Sport later slashed it to two years.
 
However, this is not the first time doping has cast its spell at the Olympics.

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History of Doping in Olympics

Right from the 1904 Games where the winner of the marathon, Thomas Hicks, was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, many athletes were found using drugs to improve their performance.
 

First Olympic athlete caught for doping

Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall was the first Olympic athlete to test positive for drugs. In 1990, documents were discovered that showed many East German female athletes, especially swimmers, had been administered anabolic steroids and other drugs by their coaches and trainers.

 
An Australian study also found cases of doping in the 1980 Summer Olympics. Documents obtained in 2016 revealed the Soviet Union's plans for a statewide doping system in track and field in preparation for the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
 
Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson, who won the Men's 100 metres at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, tested positive for stanozolol. His gold medal was subsequently stripped and awarded to runner-up Carl Lewis.

 

How WADA came into existence?

In the late 1990s, the IOC took the initiative in a more organised battle against doping, leading to the formation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in 1999. Despite that, several medalists in weightlifting and cross-country skiing were disqualified due to failing a drug test in the 2000 Summer Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics. During the 2006 Winter Olympics, only one athlete failed a drug test and had a medal revoked.
 
During the Beijing Olympics, out of the 4,500 samples that were collected, six athletes with positive samples were barred.
 
In May 2016, following the Russian doping scandal, the IOC announced that 32 retests had come back positive for performance-enhancing drugs, of which 14 were from Russian athletes, including 2012 Olympic champion high jumper Anna Chicherova.

 
By April 2017, the 2008 Summer Olympics has had the most (50) Olympic medals stripped for doping violations with Russia losing 14 medals.
 

Here are some of the biggest doping scandals in modern Olympics history.

Lance Armstrong (USA), 2000
 
American cyclist Lance Armstrong had his 7 Tour de France titles (from 1999 to 2005) revoked in 2012 ovber doping suspicions. In 2013, the IOC nullified the bronze medal Armstrong won at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

 
Russian team in 2012, 2014, and 2016
 
Russia landed in a soup for doping in 2012 and even in 2014 when it hosted Winter Olympics in Sochi. The country has not been able to quell suspicions since then.
 
Based on a report from the World Anti-Doping Agency, the International Olympic Committee said, "all Russian athletes … are considered to be affected by a system subverting and manipulating the anti-doping system." As a result, 271 of 389 Russian athletes were cleared for competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
 
The International Paralympic Committee banned the entire Russian federation from competing at the Rio Paralympics.

 
Marion Jones (USA), 2000
 
In 2007, American sprinter Marion Jones admitted to the past use of a designer steroid known as "the clear" before the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Jones returned the five medals she won in those games, including gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter races, and the 4 x 400-meter relay.
 

 
Tyson Gay (USA), 2012
 
American sprinter Tyson Gay was part of the silver-medal-winning 4 x 100–meter relay team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. But the next year, Gay failed three drug tests in rapid succession, prompting the erasure of results dating back to the London games.
 
In 2015, the IOC stripped Gay's relay teammates of their medals.