Doping In Sports: Six Drugs Scandals That Rocked Sport

By Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer Updated: 03 April 2023

Amelia Walker Senior Content Writer

Amelia Walker is a Senior Content Writer at Betting.US. She has a law degree and deep knowledge of the gambling laws in the United States. Her mission is to keep players informed about responsible gambling, while her passion for sports helps her create useful guides. Amelia has over a decade of experience in betting, which has positioned her as a trusted voice among our readers.

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• Doping in Sports
• Athletes Who Used Steroids
• Russia’s Olympic Games Ban
• The Biogenesis Doping Scandal
• Lance Armstrong
• BALCO
• The Festina Cycling Team
• Diego Maradona – World Cup Elimination
• Frequently Asked Questions

Almost from the birth of professional sports, athletes have been willing to put almost anything into their body to enhance their performance. Doping in sports is a major problem, and while most major sporting organizations now test athletes, many still fall through the cracks. In today’s post, we’re going to look at a few of the biggest doping scandals in world sports.

Doping In Sports: What is It?

Doping in sports refers to athletes that used performance-enhancing drugs or other prohibited substances to gain an unfair advantage in competition. Doping has been a widespread issue in sports for many decades, with athletes using a variety of substances, including anabolic steroids, blood doping, and stimulants, to enhance their physical abilities.

The use of these substances not only violates the principles of fair play but also poses serious health risks to athletes. Many sports organizations have implemented strict anti-doping policies and testing programs to deter and detect the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Athletes Who Used Steroids

There have been hundreds of athletes who used steroids, enhancement drugs like Modafinil, and just about everything in between. While athletes are permitted to take certain enhancement medications if they’re prescribed for a medical reason, sporting regulators are, today, stricter than ever, and there have been numerous clampdowns in recent years. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some athletes who used performance enhancing drugs.

Russia’s Olympic Ban

One of the best examples of athletes caught doping was the Russian Olympic team. In 2016, the ex-head of an anti-doping laboratory in Moscow turned whistleblower, as he revealed evidence of a state-run program to give Russian athletes who were competing in the Olympics performance-enhancing drugs. He also revealed that the Russian government went to extraordinary lengths to hide the use of these drugs, and it all occurred during the 2014 Olympic Games which were held in Sochi, Russia.

According to the whistleblower, the cover-up was so intense that it even included the intelligence services. They reportedly accessed tamper-proof bottles and manipulated the results of urine samples. After the whistleblower spoke out, the World Anti-Doping Agency opened an investigation and ended up finding clear evidence of the scheme.

In December 2019, after Moscow provided the Anti-Doping Agency with manipulated test results, Russia had a four-year ban imposed on them for the Olympic Games. They were also banned from world championship sporting events. Interestingly, Russian athletes were allowed to compete at the 2022 Olympic Games, but not under the Russian flag, and nor were they allowed to sing their country’s national anthem.

The Biogenesis Doping Scandal

The Biogenesis doping scandal was a major sports controversy that took place in 2013 and implicated several professional baseball players. It began when the Miami New Times published an article detailing the activities of a Florida clinic called Biogenesis of America, which had allegedly provided performance-enhancing drugs to athletes.

The report named numerous prominent Major League Baseball (MLB) stars, including Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun, as having used banned substances supplied by the clinic. MLB launched an investigation into the matter led by its own Department of Investigations with assistance from federal authorities.

As part of their probe, MLB officials subpoenaed records from Biogenesis and interviewed dozens of current or former employees connected to it. After months of investigating, they concluded that there were widespread violations of baseball’s drug policies involving illegal performance enhancing drugs such as testosterone derivatives and human growth hormone (HGH).

All players who were found guilty of using these substances received suspensions ranging from 50 games to a season depending on how much evidence existed against them at trial time. Some retired voluntarily before punishment could be handed out but most accepted their fate without question after being presented with indisputable proof linking them directly back to the doping scheme.

It took a while for the MLB to recover, and today, they continue to carry out more stringent drug tests than ever before. If you’re interested in gambling on baseball, check out the best live MLB betting sites.

Lance Armstrong

The Lance Armstrong drugs scandal involves the former professional cyclist and his involvement in doping. He admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs during his career, following a lengthy investigation by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

As a result, he received lifetime bans from all sanctioned competitions with USADA stripping him of all titles dating back to August 1998. This included seven Tour de France titles from 1999-2005 as well as an Olympic bronze medal at the 2000 Olympics.

Armstrong announced that he was stopping fighting charges against him made by USADA which led to their report being released on October 10th, 2012, detailing evidence found against Armstrong through interviews, financial arrangements and other accounts. In January 2013, Armstrong finally publicly confessed during an interview with Oprah Winfrey about taking banned substances throughout much of his cycling career. This included EPO blood transfusions, cortisone testosterone and growth hormone treatments.

On 22nd February 2021, the International Cycling Union confirmed they had disqualified Armstrong’s results from 1st August 1998 onwards after appeals were dismissed. The event brought doping in sports into the limelight and changed the way sporting bodies drug tested competitors.

The BALCO Scandal

The BALCO scandal was a sports doping incident involving the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) that took place in 2003. The United States Anti-Doping Agency found that multiple professional and amateur athletes had used banned performance-enhancing drugs, supplied by Victor Conte’s business.

He eventually pleaded guilty to distributing steroids to elite track stars Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, and Dwain Chambers, as well as numerous Major League Baseball players like Barry Bonds. As a result of this investigation lasting over five years many high-profile athletes were exposed for their involvement with BALCO.

This led to several suspensions throughout all levels of sport. It also caused an overhaul of anti-doping regulations across the board due to its severity and implications for health risks associated with illegal drug use within competitive sport.

Festina Cycling Team

The Festina cycling team was at the center of one of the most notorious doping scandals in sporting history. In 1998, during a routine customs check near Bordeaux, France, police found illegal drugs and medical equipment along with several documents that implicated members of the Festina team in systematic use of performance-enhancing substances.

In response to these allegations, an inquiry was launched by French police who interviewed many cyclists as well as key figures from different cycling teams throughout Europe. The ensuing investigation revealed widespread doping practices within professional teams which involved supplying riders with banned substances such as EPO and testosterone patches along with other illicit products.

As a result, over 50 people were charged or convicted for their involvement in this scandal which resulted in suspensions or lifetime bans for some individuals associated with it.

This case brought about major changes to anti-doping regulations and marked an important turning point towards more rigorous enforcement policies adopted by sports governing bodies today when dealing with matters related to drug abuse among athletes.

Diego Maradona and Ephedrine

Diego Maradona was an Argentine soccer player, considered one of the greatest players ever. He is widely remembered for his Hand of God goal and leading Argentina to victory in the 1986 World Cup. Throughout his glittering career, he won numerous awards such as FIFA Player of the 20th Century award and UEFA Best Foreign Player Award. However, despite this phenomenal success on the field, there was an incident involving him and doping.

At the 1994 World Cup, Maradona tested positive for five different variants of ephedrine. He’d already been suspended for 15 months back in 1991 due to cocaine use, but the new revelations led him to be kicked out of the tournament. Sadly, he never played for Argentina again. Curious about other athletes who have been caught doping? Check out the table below: