PAiN
11-26-2016, 10:43 PM
Olympics Find That Over 75 Athletes Abused Steroids in 2008 and 2012 Games
Nov 21, 2016 4:32PM EST
Following the exposure of a massive state-run doping program (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html) in Russia, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) is retesting thousands of urine samples taken during the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and Beijing and London, and many samples have come back positive, costing athletes their Olympic medals, according to news reports.
The first two waves of retests have shown that over 75 athletes were guilty of abusing steroids during the Games, although The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/nov/17/failed-drug-tests-beijing-2008-olympics-ioc) reports this number could be as high as 98. Of these athletes, over 40 won medals, according to the The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/sports/olympics/olympics-doping-medals-stripped.html?_r=1)
Gian-Franco Kasper, an executive board member of the IOC, told The Times, “We lose credibility. Credibility is a major concern.”
However, the IOC is confident that the results of the Rio Olympics will not be called into question. The organization released the following statement, according to The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/nov/17/failed-drug-tests-beijing-2008-olympics-ioc): “To provide a level playing field for all clean athletes at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the IOC put special measures in place, including targeted pre-tests and the re-analysis of stored samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, following an intelligence-gathering process that started in August 2015.”
Of the 16 athletes named last Friday (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/nov/17/failed-drug-tests-beijing-2008-olympics-ioc) in this latest doping scandal, 15 were Russian, leading officials to believe that the state-run doping program (in which urine samples were swapped out in the dead of night (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html)) may have extended to other Games. Russia still hasn't admitted to the doping program, despite a push from the World Anti-Doping Agency (http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/38043123).
As a result of these revelations, some athletes have been stripped of their medals, and others, like the United States' Chaunté Lowe, have retroactively received Olympic honors.
Nov 21, 2016 4:32PM EST
Following the exposure of a massive state-run doping program (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html) in Russia, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) is retesting thousands of urine samples taken during the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and Beijing and London, and many samples have come back positive, costing athletes their Olympic medals, according to news reports.
The first two waves of retests have shown that over 75 athletes were guilty of abusing steroids during the Games, although The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/nov/17/failed-drug-tests-beijing-2008-olympics-ioc) reports this number could be as high as 98. Of these athletes, over 40 won medals, according to the The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/sports/olympics/olympics-doping-medals-stripped.html?_r=1)
Gian-Franco Kasper, an executive board member of the IOC, told The Times, “We lose credibility. Credibility is a major concern.”
However, the IOC is confident that the results of the Rio Olympics will not be called into question. The organization released the following statement, according to The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/nov/17/failed-drug-tests-beijing-2008-olympics-ioc): “To provide a level playing field for all clean athletes at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the IOC put special measures in place, including targeted pre-tests and the re-analysis of stored samples from Beijing 2008 and London 2012, following an intelligence-gathering process that started in August 2015.”
Of the 16 athletes named last Friday (https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/nov/17/failed-drug-tests-beijing-2008-olympics-ioc) in this latest doping scandal, 15 were Russian, leading officials to believe that the state-run doping program (in which urine samples were swapped out in the dead of night (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/13/sports/russia-doping-sochi-olympics-2014.html)) may have extended to other Games. Russia still hasn't admitted to the doping program, despite a push from the World Anti-Doping Agency (http://www.bbc.com/sport/olympics/38043123).
As a result of these revelations, some athletes have been stripped of their medals, and others, like the United States' Chaunté Lowe, have retroactively received Olympic honors.