Athletes Stripped of Olympic Medals - Part 1

by Libby Pelham | More from this Blogger

16 Aug 2008 02:28 PM

I cannot imagine the dedication it takes to make it to the Olympic Games, but it must come down to the fact that that sport is your entire life. So, you would think the athletes would take it very, very seriously. But, then medal winners like Ara Abrahamian let the judges decision get to them and now, not only does he not have his bronze medal from the Beijing Olympics, I feel his reputation as an athlete is tarnished.

But, Abrahamian is not the first athlete to have his medal stripped by the International Olympic Committee. Yes, it is their barbecue and if they feel you are not acting accordingly, they will take their medals back. If you remember, Olympian Marion Jones just had all five of her medals from the Sydney games stripped due to testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. So, after she became the first female athlete to win five medals at a single Olympic games, her name as been wiped clean as if she never existed. She was also banned from attending the Beijing games.

At the 1992 Barcelona games, weightlifter Ibragim Samadov pulled an Abrahamian when he refused to have his bronze medal placed around his neck. He let them place it in his hand, but like Abrahamian, placed it on the floor and walked off. He apologized to the IOC later, but guess what? It was too late. They disqualified him then he was later banned for life by the weightlifting governing body. Is third best in the world really that bad a position to be in?

This Olympic Games alone, there have already been three medals taken away, including Abrahamian's bronze. North Korean shooter Kim Jon Su had both a silver and bronze medal taken away when he failed a drug test. I was thinking "Drugs for shooting?" but I later read that Kim had been using propranolol, which stops tremors. I think if he has a gun in his hand, I'd rather him be taking that drug!

Two other athletes have been expelled for drugs - Spanish cyclist Maria Isabel Moreno and Vietnamese gymnast Thi Ngan Thuong Do.

I don't know about you, but if I knew I was taking performance enhancing drugs and won medals, I don't think I'd feel so good about it. What happened to winning just because you were the best? It seems maybe there isn't a lot of pride in that anymore.

Oh well, tomorrow, I will talk more about athletes who had their medals stripped and why.

Learn more about Libby Pelham

Libby Pelham is a work-at-home mom located in Jacksonville, NC. She has a beautiful little boy, Will, born in July of 2004.

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