Olympic Cheating Recap

August 25th, 2008 filed in Olympics, Recap

We have seen world records fall, competitions dominated, and results that make you scratch your head. Now with the Olympics over, it is time for our resident cheating expert to take a look at the performances from the games, and give you his opinions on what we have witnessed. From Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt to the Chinese Gold Medal Count, Chester discuss it all.

CHEATING in the Beijing Olympics
Chester Cheater

Let’s start with the host country China. Amazingly, China finished with 51 gold medals, the first country to crack 50 since the USSR in 1988. We all know how clean the Soviet Union was. These games mark the first time that a county other than the United States or Soviet Union has led the gold medal count since 1936. Even more amazing is the fact that China won more gold medals at this Olympics than they won total medals in Athens 4 years ago. So what contributed to the strong showing in Chinese Gold Medals?

Weightlifting and Gymnastics were major contributors. We have heard much about the possible age cheating by the Chinese Gymnastics Team, but what of the Chinese Weightlifters? China won 8 of the possible 15 gold medals in weightlifting, in a 9th class, they won Silver. The other 6 weight classes featured a total of 0 Chinese competitors. Which means they won 8 of the 9 classes the entered, and won silver in the 9th. Many of those medals were blowouts of the nearest competitor, with many olympic and world records being set by the Chinese in weightlifting.

Not to be outdone by the gymnasts and weightlifters, it seems the Chinese swimmers may be back to their old tricks. Over 40 Chinese swimmers since 1990 have failed drug tests. That’s triple the amount of any other swimming country during the same period of time. The latest was China’s top swimmer, Ouyang Kunpeng, who was banned from competition for life after testing positive for steroids, just 43 days before the Beijing Olympics. So where did that leave the team for the most important swim meet in the countries history? They came out of nowhere to capture Gold and Silver in the Women’s 200m Butterfly. Liu Zige recorded a time that was more than 5 seconds better than her time from the spring, demolishing the world record in the process. Her performance almost made you forget about the Women’s 4×100 Freestyle team. Coming into the heats, the team ranked an average of #39 in the world. Coming out of the heats, the top qualifying Chinese Team became the team to beat in the relay. They finished off of the podium in the finals, but surprisingly took silver in the 4×200m freestyle relay.

Judging was another cause for controversy at this years Olympics. Judged sports include Gymnastics, Diving, Boxing, Taekwondo, Judo, Wrestling, Synchonized swimming, and probably more that I can’t even think of. Many of those events were at the center of disputes during the Beijing Olympics. Those disputes include that of Swedish wrestler Ara Abrahamian, Irish Boxer Kenny Egan, U.S. Gymnasts, and others. Many of these disputes seemed to involve Chinese competitors. China finished with 27 Gold Medals in Judged Events while the United States won 4.

China isn’t the only country to raise some eyebrows at this years games. The dominating performances of Michael Phelps, the age defying antics of Dara Torres, the pre-Olympic withdraw of Jessica Hardy, and the memories of Marion Jones kept the United States in the spotlight as well. Jamaica’s sudden rise in Track and Field was highlighted by the unbelievable performances of Usain Bolt. British Cylcing dominance has raised some questions by the French. Athletes formerly suspended for drug offenses returned to take medals, including Oussama Mellouli, Valery Borchin, and Christine Ohuruogu.

Then there was the Horse Doping Scandal. Show Jumping horses from Norway, Ireland, Brazil and Germany were all found with capsaicin in their blood. The drug, in the form of a cream rubbed into the skin, is prohibited for its pain-relieving properties. Norway’s Tony Andre Hansen and his horse Camiro, Lantinus from Ireland, ridden by Dennis Lynch, Brazil’s Chupa Cup, ridden by Bernardo Alves, and Germany’s Coster, ridden by Christian Ahlmann, were all suspended.

Four years ago in Athens, 26 Olympians tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Only 7 athletes tested positive at the 2008 Olympic Games. They include:
Weightlifter Igor Razoronov - Ukraine
Heptathlete Lyudmila Blonska - Ukraine
Hurdler Fani Halkia - Greece
Pistol Shooter Kim Hyun-woong - North Korea
Gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong - Vietnam
Pistol Shooter Kim Jong Su - North Korea
Cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno - Spain

Those numbers would make you believe that cheating in sports, and the Olympics, is on the decline, but we all know better. These Olympic Games started by trying to deceive you, and the athletes, as always, are one step ahead of the testing. Guaranteed within the next few years, more will be added to this list. Eventually we may even find out how old He Kexin really is.