Scandalous events that rocked the Olympics – Theoretically the Olympics have been around since the 8th century B.C., in which the games took place every four years held in Olympia in honor of the great god Zeus. With the games identifying as an event of pure sacrifice rather than a sporting celebration, you can only imagine how very different the Olympics are played in the present than in the brutal god worshiping past.
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As time past by, so did the games themselves, slowly fading into obscurity as the modern world sailed on. Appearing in 1896, the first modern Olympics were born with a minuscule 14 nations and 241 athletes. Nowadays, the competition has grown to the point where nearly every nation in the world is at least represented in something, be it archery, diving or modern pentathlon. Proven, in the 2012 London Olympics, when Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Brunei all entered a female athlete for the first time, sparking a new era for female athletes and worldwide acceptance.
Yet with each games, comes more controversy. With boycotts, bribery, doping, death and terrorist attacks forming a new scare for the masses, disputes and altercations seem to constantly taint the competition more and more every four years, with even the winter Olympics unable to escape from its murky drawls. From the second the countries all bid to host the event, to the games itself, there is and always will be a scandalous stain that is difficult to clean away let alone sweep under the rug. So, to highlight the famous games dark and dubious past, here are 15 scandalous events that ever rocked The Olympics.
15. Dodgy Referees
With such a checkered past between The USA and the Soviet Union, nothing could have fueled the raging fire of the nearly desolate Cold War than the events of the 1972 Olympics men’s basketball final. Dubbed as one of the most controversial finals in Olympic history, the match has been surrounded by scandal ever since. With 7 gold medals under their belts already, the USA were already making waves during the tournament having just power vaulted their way through the last 8 games. Tipped to win their 8th gold medal, the game started with a bang, with both teams playing strong. With the USSR leading the Americans 49-48, the USA got a lucky break when one of their players was brought down, with 3 seconds to go. Awarded two free throws, the Americans sank the first, tying the game to 49-49, then joyfully netting the second, believing they had won. However, with the clock seemingly reset, the Soviets managed to win the game, sinking the final basket from afar, although in reality the time had actually expired 3 seconds earlier. With screams of match fixing and political warfare, the scandal most definitely added fuel to an already tense relationship. In fact still to this day, the Americans openly refuse to accept the silver medals, claiming that politics had gotten in the way of sportsmanship camaraderie.
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