High-profile drugs cases in sport

MICHELLE SMITH

The Irishwoman made waves at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics when she claimed three gold medals despite only three years previously not even being ranked in the top 25 in any swimming event.

Her American opponents claimed Smith’s rapid improvement was not possible without drugs and the fact that her husband Erik de Bruin, a former Dutch discus thrower, was serving a drugs suspension did not stop the rumours.

Smith consistently passed her Olympic drug tests but two years later, after a random test, she was banned from competition by swimming’s governing body, FINA, for four years following a ruling she had tampered with a urine sample taken at her home.

She announced her retirement after her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the decision was turned down.

ALAIN BAXTER

The Aviemore-based Scot won a slalom bronze medal at the Winter Olympics in February, only to have it snatched from his grasp when he failed a drugs test after using an American Vicks inhaler which – unlike the British version - contains a banned ingredient.

An appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport finally cleared his name but it did not secure the return of his medal. Baxter will return to action next month.

BEN JOHNSON

The Canadian tore across the finish line in a scarcely-believable world-record time of 9.79 seconds to pip his great rival Carl Lewis to Olympic 100 metres gold at the 1988 Games in Seoul. The controversy, though, was only just starting.

Johnson was stripped of his medal after testing positive for anabolic steroids and the gold was handed to Lewis.

The disgraced sprinter was banned from ever representing Canada again, which was later reduced to two years on appeal, but in 1993, Johnson was banned for life for failing another random test at a meeting in Montreal.

JASON LIVINGSTON

Going into the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, 21-year-old Livingston was regarded by many as the natural successor to Linford Christie after he had won the 100m for Britain in the European Under-23 Cup at Gateshead.

However, following a random out-of-competition drugs test, it was announced in Barcelona he had tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid methandianone. Livingston returned home in disgrace and was banned from all competitions for four years.

ROSS REBAGLIATI

Canadian Rebagliati tested positive for minute traces of marijuana at the 1998 Winter Olympic in Nagano after winning the snowboarding men’s giant slalom.

He claimed he had quit smoking the drug for nearly a year and any marijuana found in his system must have came from second-hand smoke he had inhaled during a party to celebrate going to the Games.

He was initially disqualified, but was later allowed to retain his title after an appeal by the Canadian Olympic Association.

LINFORD CHRISTIE

Britain’s 1992 Olympic sprint champion was banned for two years for testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone at a meeting in Dortmund, Germany, in February 1999.

He protested his innocence throughout the ban but chose not to contest it because he had retired from international competition.

Because of the ban, Christie was barred from the British camp at the Olympic Village at Sydney 2000 and trained with his athletes on the Australian Gold Coast.

CJ HUNTER

American shot-put world champion CJ Hunter, husband and coach of Sydney Olympic gold medallist Marion Jones, tested positive for nandrolone in the build-up to the 2000 Games.

Hunter was ranked number one in the world and won the US trials, but withdrew from the team following knee surgery.

It later emerged he had failed a test for the steroid during the summer. Hunter was subsequently banned for two years, which led to the shot-putter announcing his retirement.

JAAP STAM

FIFA imposed a five-month worldwide ban on former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam after he tested positive for nandrolone in 2001.

Stam was sold to Lazio after his infamous bust-up with United manager Alex Ferguson and hit the headlines again when he was banned from Italian football after testing positive for the steroid in October.

The Dutchman was not the only footballer to fall foul of the nandrolone scandal last year, with international team-mates Edgar Davids and Frank de Boer, as well as Portuguese star Fernando Couto, all providing positive samples.

FESTINA TOUR DE FRANCE TEAM

The 1998 Tour de France was thrown into chaos when Festina ‘soigneur’ Willy Voet was stopped as he attempted to drive across the Franco-Belgian border with a consignment of drugs.

The entire team, including French star Richard Virenque, was thrown out of the race. Voet and team trainer Bruno Roussel were fined and handed suspended prison sentences at the end of 2000 when the case was eventually brought to trial.

JOHANN MUEHLEGG

Spanish cross-country skier Johann Muehlegg won treble gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics. Muehlegg, a German who defected to Spain because he claimed aliens told him to, tested negative after both the 10 kilometre combined and 30km freestyle events.

However, he produced a positive sample after winning the 50km race for the blood-boosting drug darbepoetin. The medals were Spain’s first in the Winter Olympics for 30 years and while Muehlegg was allowed to keep his first two golds, he was ordered to return his 50km gong.

OLGA YEGOROVA

A badly-conducted drugs test saw Russia’s Olga Yegorova cleared to compete in the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton.

She had become the first athlete to test positive for the banned drug erythropoietin (EPO) following a Paris Golden League meeting.

Despite Britain’s Paula Radcliffe launching a very public trackside campaign as Yegorova raced by holding up a banner proclaiming ‘EPO Cheats Out’, the Russian went on to win the 5,000m title.

JANINE WHITLOCK

The pole vault British women’s record-holder is serving a two-year suspension after failing a drugs test at the Commonwealth Games trials in June.

Whitlock tested positive for the banned steroid methandienone – also known as Dianabol - after setting her 37th UK record at the meeting in Manchester.

Whitlock accepted that she had breached UK Athletics’ doping rules and procedures but insisted she had never knowingly taken any banned substance and claimed that her food or drinks must have been spiked, possibly by a rival.

DOUGIE WALKER

Scottish sprinter Dougie Walker, then the European 200m champion, was banned for two years by the IAAF for failing a drugs test for nandrolone in 1998.

He protested his ban from the outset and was eventually cleared of any wrong-doing by a UK Athletics disciplinary panel. However, just 19 days later, the IAAF refused to accept the findings of the British governing body.

Walker continued to fight his case but his Olympic dream was lost and he was forced to wait until his ban ended in November 2000.