The Olympic Games, which had its inception in 1896, has been witness to a wide range of historic events throughout the years, some great and some not very.
As much as one celebrates the showpiece event for its greatness and glory, it has had its fair share of controversies and scandals.
With Paris 2024 lurking on the horizon, we take a look at some of the most controversial moments in Olympics history.
1908: Wyndham Halswelle gets a walkover
Wyndham Halswelle. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Photo Library
In the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London, the men’s 400 metres witnessed USA’s John Carpenter, who was the winner, getting disqualified. Carpenter blocked Wyndham Halswelle of Great Britain using his elbow that was then legal under American rules but prohibited by the British rules under which the race was run.
A second final race was held due to the disqualification saga, in which Halswelle was to face the other two finalists William Robbins and John Taylor of the USA.
Both Robbins and Taylor decided to forfeit the race as a sign of protest against the judge’s decision. Halswelle was thus the only medallist in the 400 metres, a controversial race which became the only ever walkover victory in Olympic history.
Jim Thorpe. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
1912: Jim Thorpe loses his medals but wins them back, posthumously
The first native American to win an Olympic gold medal, Jim Thorpe, was stripped of his gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon events by the Olympic Committee. It was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics — a practice against the rules of amateurism of the Games back then.
In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored his Olympic medals with replicas, after ruling that the decision to strip him of his medals fell outside of the required 30 days.
Paavo Nurmi. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Photo Library
1932: The Flying Finn banned from competing
In the 1932 Olympics held in Los Angeles, nine-time Finnish Olympic gold medallist Paavo Nurmi’s amateur status was questioned by Swedish authorities, and he was banned from running in the Games. Despite pleas from all the other competing athletes of the marathon, he was not allowed to compete.
Nurmi was later forced into retirement due to this incident, making this one of the most shameful incidents in Olympic history.
1936: Adolf Hitler misusing the Olympic Games
Adolf Hitler | Photo Credit: AFP
In 1931, the IOC selected the German capital city of Berlin as the host of the 1936 Summer Games. After Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933, the Olympics started aligning with the dictator’s dangerous Nazi politics. A number of prominent politicians and organisations called for a boycott of the Games, while other campaigners called for it to be relocated.
Despite the pushback, the event was conducted and still remains a blot on the Olympic landscape.
Hitler considered the Berlin event as ‘his’ Olympics and misused it to spread his Nazi propaganda and Post-War German glorification.
Ervin Zador. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Photo Library
1956: Blood in the water
The Soviet Union’s invasion of Hungary had raised intense tension leading up to the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. Several countries like Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland boycotted the event following the IOC’S decision to allow Soviet athletes to participate.
The Soviet-Hungarian tension boiled over when the two men’s water polo teams met for the semifinal. Several players from both teams started getting increasingly violent as the game progressed resulting in absolute mayhem.
The crowd was prevented from rioting only because the police intervened in time. Hungary’s Ervin Zador was punched in the eye by Soviet Union’s Valentin Prokopov. This infamous match came to be known as the ‘Blood in the Water’.
1968: Tlatelolco Massacre
In an attempt to make use of the media attention and coverage leading up to the Olympics, students took to the streets of Mexico to protest against the atrocities of their authoritarian government. Days ahead of the inauguration, they marched on the streets of Tlatelolco in Mexico City demanding an end of police repression and the release of political prisoners.
The government repressed the protest using military might, firing at thousands of students resulting in several deaths.
1972: Munich firings
The 1972 Munich Olympics, which was called the “Cheerful Games” ended up turning into a tragedy. In the second week of the tournament, 11 members of the Israeli Olympic squad and a policeman were killed by members of the Palestinian Black September Organisation.
The Games were suspended within hours of the attack. But the IOC President Avery Brundage instructed that the Games must continue once things are brought to control despite the death of the athletes.
1976: Taiwan, People’s Republic of China boycott the Games
Canada initially did not allow the Republic of China’s team (Taiwan) into the country as it did not recognise Taiwan as a nation. Canada’s decision was in violation of its agreement with the IOC to allow all recognised teams to compete in the country.
Later on, Canada agreed to allow the Taiwanese athletes into the country if they did not compete under the name or flag of the Republic of China. Other competing countries including the U.S. threatened to boycott the event.
However, all of this came to an end after the IOC agreed to Canada’s demand. This led to Taiwan boycotting the Games. The People’s Republic Of China also boycotted the Games due to the IOC not recognising them as the sole representative of China.
2008: Angel Matos attacks referee
Angel Matos (red). | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Cuban taekwondo athlete Angel Matos was banned for life from all international events after kicking a referee in the face during the bronze medal match in Beijing. Matos, a former Olympic gold medallist, suffered a foot injury during the match. He took a timeout but failed to return to the arena within the allotted time, resulting in the referee disqualifying him for a time violation.
Matos argued with the referee, kicked him in the face, punched a judge in the arm, and spat on the floor of the arena before being escorted out by security. The IOC gave him a lifetime ban after this incident.
2016: Russian athletes banned for doping
The World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) series of investigations, which took place post doping allegations during the 2014 Winter Olympics, resulted in the ban of its Russian wing RUSADA for non-compliance to the World Anti-Doping Code.
Out of the 389 athletes in Russia’s Olympic squad for the Rio Olympics, 111 athletes were expelled for doping, one day prior to the opening ceremony.
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