The 7 Biggest Cheaters in Sports

Geschatte leestijd: 7 minuten The winter Olympics are coming! These games are overshadowed by the doping scandal in Russia. The organized cheating is just an example of how far some will go for victory.

1. Boris Onischenko’s. Touchné

A nice case of cheating from the history books. During fencing at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, there was what you might call mechanical doping. During fencing, some Britons noticed that their opponent Boris Onischenko seemed to score without actually hitting them. The first time they indicated that something seemed amiss, the equipment that provides a signal when the opponent is hit was checked. This equipment seemed to be working fine. In his fifth match, Boris Onischenko faced the very experienced Brit, Jim Fox. In an attack by Boris, Jim stepped back and parried. He knew he had parried well, but still, the signal sounded indicating that Onischenko would have scored. Both gentlemen indicated that it was odd, and Onischenko quickly changed weapons. However, Jim Fox wanted to prevent any potential defective weapon from being used in later matches and asked the official to investigate. At first, the Russians pretended they couldn’t find the foil, but eventually, it was subjected to an inspection. It turned out that a mechanism had been installed that allowed Onischenko to trigger the signal with the push of a hidden button.

2. Spanish basketball team 2000 Paralympics

Athletes faking intellectual disabilities, I really don’t get it. With doping, you can at least hope not to get caught, but how does that work when your photo appears in the newspaper? When Cartman pretended to be intellectually disabled to participate in the Special Olympics, it seemed like the usual nonsense from Southpark. Four years earlier, however, there were indeed athletes who won gold at the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney by faking an intellectual disability. The Spanish Basketball team had won gold but had to return the medals. One of the players, Carlos Ribagorda, had told an undercover journalist that he and most of his teammates had not undergone tests to prove their disability (an IQ lower than 75). In one game, the Spanish dominance was so great that the Spanish coach allegedly told his team to hold back because it would be too obvious. After an investigation by the International Paralympic Committee, it was indeed found that these tests had not been carried out. According to Ribagorda, the Spanish association for athletes with intellectual disabilities intentionally recruited athletes without disabilities for more success and sponsors. When the photo of the ‘winners’ appeared in local Spanish newspapers, the players were also recognized by acquaintances. People who knew they didn’t have an intellectual disability at all. Two weeks later, the team was disqualified, and they had to return the medals. Thirteen years later, the coach was convicted of fraud and ordered to repay almost one and a half tons of subsidies he had received for the athletes who supposedly had a disability. Ribagorda also said that some Spanish participants in other sports such as table tennis, athletics, and swimming had no disability. In total, 5 medals would have been won by cheating. Of the 200 athletes, at least 15 would not have had an intellectual disability. How low can you go?

3. Tonya Harding

A lot lower. Hollywood couldn’t have written it better. Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were each other’s biggest competitors for selection for the 1994 Winter Olympics. Kerrigan was ‘America’s sweetheart’, while Harding didn’t really fit the image of Disney on Ice princesses. She even turned into the classic evil villain by committing one of the greatest atrocities in the history of sport. During the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, Kerrigan hoped to qualify for one of the two spots on the American Olympic team. After a practice session, she walks off the ice, after which she is struck on the knee by a man with a sort of police baton. The images that follow go around the world. People who saw it will remember the scream “Why me?” Fortunately, the damage turned out to be relatively minor, allowing Kerrigan to rehabilitate in time for the Olympics seven weeks later in Lillehammer. Harding won those American championships and qualified for the Olympic team. The remaining competition felt that Nancy Kerrigan deserved the other spot, and the association included her in the selection. It turned out that the attacker had been hired by Tonya Harding’s ex-husband. Three weeks after the attack, he confessed and said that Tonya had orchestrated the attack. Yet she was allowed to participate in the Olympics pending the investigation. And so it happened that both ladies competed against each other a month later. It was a huge media spectacle. ‘America’s sweetheart’ against the mean witch who used the nastiest methods to get rid of her competitor. Kerrigan won a silver medal. The fact that she lost gold to a Ukrainian skater didn’t matter; that was attributed to the old relations between Soviet and NATO jury members. The real story was Kerrigan’s victory over Harding, who finished eighth after a dramatic performance. Shortly thereafter, Harding confessed to obstructing the investigation. As part of her punishment, she was banned from participating in competitions. Later, her 1994 title was also revoked, and she was banned for life from the association. She has always denied ordering the attack. Speaking of Hollywood: Tonya Harding’s story has been filmed in the documentary I, Tonya, which premiered this month at the Toronto International Film Festival. Margot Robbie plays the lead role, in case you need another reason to watch.

4. Boxing with thinned gloves

A scandalous case of abuse as cheating. Boxing gloves serve two purposes. They protect the hands/fists and cushion the damage inflicted on the opponent. Not only does it make it harder, for example, to knock someone out, but it also reduces the chance of causing a cut and swelling as the gloves get larger/thicker. In 1983, a boxer decided to gain an unfair advantage by removing two layers of padding from his gloves. Louis Resto fought against the emerging, undefeated talent Billy Collins Jr. It was supposed to be an equal fight with Billy as the favorite. However, spectators were amazed at the quick damage Louis inflicted on Billy’s face. Billy himself also said between rounds that Resto hit much harder than expected and that his fists felt like stones. The 21-year-old Billy endured the abuse for 10 rounds, after which Resto was declared the winner. Billy Collins couldn’t box anymore due to an eye injury sustained in that fight. He fell into depression and died a year later in a car accident. Career ruined, life ruined.

5. Ben Johnson

Nowadays, it can be considered a ‘normal’ case of doping, but at the time, it was one of the first major doping cases in athletics. The first athlete’s name I remember from my youth is that of Carl Lewis, you could say the Usain Bolt of the 80s and 90s for the younger ones among us. Lewis was a superstar who dominated the 100 meters and long jump. I was 11 years old when the 1988 Olympics were held in Seoul. Canadian Ben Johnson had won the last four races in the 100-meter sprint against Carl Lewis, threatening his status as the fastest man on earth. I still remember what a shock it was when Ben Johnson defeated Carl Lewis again by setting a new record with a time of 9.79. He even had time to raise his hands in victory before crossing the finish line. Just as dominant as Usain Bolt, who set the current world record in 2009 and calmly finished the last meters. Johnson’s dominance seemed unnatural. Maybe because I was a fan of Carl Lewis and couldn’t accept that he was so convincingly defeated. Lewis himself had been complaining for a year that there must be doping involved after his earlier defeats against Johnson, including at the 1987 World Championships. Three days after the world record at the Olympics, it was determined that Ben Johnson had indeed used doping, and Lewis was awarded the gold. This would make Johnson one of the most famous cheaters in sports history. The fact that he was caught using doping again after his comeback in 1993 did not help his reputation.

6. Lance Armstrong

No sports hero has fallen harder than Lance Armstrong. From folk hero, champion, and advocate for cancer patients to the biggest cheat, scammer, and liar in modern sports. The most painful thing about cheating is not the cheating itself, or even its scale and results. It’s the denial of doping use and the attempt to destroy anyone who expresses doubts about it. Lance saw only one possible answer to accusations of use, and that was full attack. A game of all or nothing. Of course, it ended up being nothing, with the climax being the interview with Oprah Winfrey. The curtain had fallen, and Lance had no way out. Full disclosure seemed to be the only possible way to limit some damage. Personally, I enjoyed the tough opening of the interview.

7. New England Patriots “spygate”

Lance was an example of a big man in a big sport cheating on a large scale. In the U.S., however, the offense doesn’t have to be so big to lead to months of investigation and drown in media attention. The chance that the name Bill Belichick means nothing to you is very high. Bill Belichick is the most successful coach of the most successful team in the most popular sport in the U.S. Belichick is the coach of the American Football team The New England Patriots. The winners of the last Super Bowl, which most people in the Netherlands only follow sideways because of the entertainment during the halftime show. Translated into Dutch terms, the Patriots are the team that has appeared in the Champions League final the most and is second in terms of teams with the most victories. If you do watch American Football games, you may have noticed that coaches always cover their mouths when giving instructions to the quarterback. This is not without reason. It is not prohibited for opponents to make film recordings of the coach while communicating with his team, but the rules determine from which positions this may happen. For example, this may not happen from the side of the field of the team being filmed. So as a coach, you may not be filmed from behind while giving instructions. In 2007, the Patriots were caught doing this, resulting in the big “spygate” scandal. Belichick received the highest possible fine of $500,000, and the team received a fine of $250,000. It wasn’t the last scandal for the Patriots. Tom Brady, the quarterback, can be seen in soccer terms as a Messi. A Messi who secretly pumps up the ball a bit harder for penalties. Brady was suspended for four games because the balls he used did not have the required pressure. “Deflategate” led to years of investigations into the potential advantage the quarterback may have gained by ensuring that his game balls had too low pressure. This would have given him better grip, and receivers would be better able to catch his balls.