The 8 Most Controversial Moments in Olympic Track & Field History

From steroid abusers to political activists, these are Olympic track's most contoversial moments.

Aug 15, 2016
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While Rio has taken a lot of heat for its relative unpreparedness as host of the 2016 Olympics, the competition at arguably the games’ marquee event—track & field—has so far avoided any major hiccups or controversies. But based on Olympic history, there’s a pretty good chance something might crop up before it’s all said and done.

From steroid cheaters getting caught and stripped of their medals to a Polish pole vaulter telling off the Soviets, we've compiled the 8 Most Controversial Track & Field Moments in Olympic History.

A Polish pole vaulter tells the Soviets to shove it.

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Polish gold medalist pole vaulter Władysław Kozakiewicz gave the Soviets a “bras d’honneur” or “arm of honor,” after completing one of his jumps at the 1980 games in Moscow. The gesture was so powerful that he almost immediately lost his medal. Throughout the Olympics, there were accusations of Soviet officials negating points to opponents, leading IAAF officials to look over officials’ scoresheets while the Olympics were in play.

Marathoner attacked by a leprechaun, finishes with bronze.

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Vanderlei Lima, the Brazilian who lit the torch at the opening ceremonies, was leading the 2004 Olympic marathon in Athens with about 10 kilometers, or about 6.21 miles to go. Neil Horan—whose choice of clothing still confuses us to this day—attacked Lima from his left and pushed the Brazilian into the crowd. Lima couldn’t make up the lost ground and had to settle for a third place finish. 

Two sprinters are pulled From US 4x100 team, leading to anti-Semitism accusations.

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Adolf Hitler was on the rise in Germany and the 1936 games in Berlin were going to be his showcase. The day of the men’s 4x100m relay, Sam Stoller and Marty Glickman, both of whom were Jewish, were pulled from the team and replaced by Jesse Owens and Ralph Metcalfe. The move was widely viewed as an American effort to not embarrass Hitler.

Algerian runner stops midway through 800m to save himself for 1500.

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Taoufik Makhloufi was the 2011 African Games Champion in the 800m and among the favorites to take home the gold in the same event at the 2012 London games. However, the Algerian was scheduled to run in the 1500m race the next day so when it came time for a preliminary run of the 800, Makhloufi ran just 200 meters before walking off the track. Because of this, he was disqualified from the games. He was then brought back after reports said he had been hampered with a knee problem and won the gold medal in the 1500m race the next day.

Zola Budd trips Mary Decker in 3000m.

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Mary Decker finally had her chance to win gold, and some barefoot 17-year-old South African competing for Great Britain screwed it all up. The two bumped into each other about midway into the race at the ‘84 games in Los Angeles with no harm, but several strides later, one more bump caused Decker to fall. Budd kept her stride, but eventually fell off, later claiming in her autobiography she did so on purpose so she did not have to receive a medal in front of such a hostile crowd. Immediately, everyone felt Budd tripped Decker on purpose, but Decker has since said she didn't believe that was the case.

Marion Jones loses the gold for her squad.

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In 2007, Jones and other Olympians were officially stripped of the gold medals they won in Sydney in 2000 after she became entangled in the BALCO scandal. Jones won five gold medals in Sydney, including two in relays. Jones was single-handedly responsible for all members of both relay teams also forfeiting their medals; however, the rules in 2000 stated that full teams could not forfeit their medals because of the doping of one athlete. So everyone but Jones got their medals back. Jones would be banned from the Beijing games in 2008 and later spend six months in prison for lying to federal investigators.

The Fastest Man in the World is stripped of his gold.

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After winning bronze in 1984, the Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the gold medal in 1988 at the Seoul games, finishing with a world record time of 9.79 seconds. Three days later, he was disqualified from the Olympics and stripped of his medal, giving American Carl Lewis his second gold in the event. Johnson also later admitted to taking steroids during his 1987 world record run, causing the IAAF to take away that record as well.

The Black Power Salute.

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The 1960s were a turbulent time in America and sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos offered up one of the most indelible images of the decade when they each wore a black glove—Smith on his right and Carlos on his left—and raised them during the playing of the national anthem at the 1968 Mexico City games to show support for the African-American struggle. The two sprinters were suspended by US Track and received death threats and backlash, but the pair never apologized and are viewed in much different light almost 50 years later.

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