List Of Olympians Who Were Banned After Winning Gold At The Olympic Games

Clinching a gold medal has been the ultimate dream for every athlete at the Olympic Games since its inception in 1958. Not only is an Olympic gold medal hailed as a crowning achievement for the athlete, but it also serves as an unwavering source of pride for the entire nation.

Over the years, numerous athletes have fought their battles in diverse sports fields gloriously to clinch the gold medals at the Olympic Games.

However, a few of them have still been unfortunate to witness the wrath of the game’s stringent format and have been banned or dismissed even after winning gold at the Olympic Games. We’re confident that there’s no worse feeling for an athlete than being ripped off their Olympic gold medal.

In this article, we will take a look at the top five Olympians who were banned at the Olympic Games even after winning gold.

Nijat Rahimov – Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s professional weightlifter, Nijat Rahimov, rose to enormous popularity and fame after he clinched a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in the category of 77kg weightlifting. In addition to clinching the most coveted Olympic gold medal, Nijat Rahimov also established a world record for clean and jerk lift of 214 kilograms.

While Nijat Rahimov was being hailed as an inspiration by millions of young athletes out there who aspired to represent their nation at the Olympic Games and clinch a gold medal for their country, a shocking revelation took away all his fame and success with a blow.

In 2022, in an investigation, it was revealed that Kazakhstan’s 2016 Olympic gold medalist had swapped his urine samples in the dope test and, as a consequence, he was ripped off his Olympic gold medal and was also banned from competing at the Olympic Games.

Ivan Ukhov – Russia

Russian high jumper Ivan Sergeyevich Ukhov, popularly referred to as “Ivan Ukhov”, made history at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London after he clinched a gold medal in the high jump event.

Ivan Ukhov’s unbeaten victory at the 2012 London Olympics was commemorated as one of his most impressive victories, in addition to the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships where he clinched a gold medal, and the 2010 European Athletics Championships where he was a silver medalist.

In a shocking turn of events, Ukhov’s career witnessed a major fall when he was found guilty of doping violations at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. As a consequence, Ivan Ukhov was stripped of his Olympic gold medal and was also banned from the Olympic Games for all the subsequent Olympic events.

Rick DeMont – America

Professional American swimmer Richard James DeMont often hailed as the “world champion” and a record-holder in numerous swimming events at the most prestigious tournaments and championships, witnessed the wrath of disqualification from the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.

Richard James DeMont clinched a gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics but was later stripped of his coveted gold medal since he tested positive for consuming a prohibited substance that was a part of his asthma medication prescription.

The news of Richard James DeMont’s spread like fire in the United States and shocked the country to its core. Although Richard James DeMont received a lot of brutal criticism for adhering to unethical practices to clinch gold at the 1972 Summer Olympics, he remained naive about the involvement of the “banned” substance listed on his prescription.

Zbigniew Kaczmarek – Poland

Fourth on our list of top five Olympians who were banned at the Olympic Games even after winning gold is Polish weightlifter, Zbigniew Kaczmarek, who appeared in a total of three Olympic Games seasons, including the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.

Although popularly hailed as one of the most experienced and potential flag bearers for Poland at the Olympic Games after he clinched a gold medal at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, Zbigniew Kaczmarek was immediately suspended from the 1976 Summer Olympics after he tested positive for consuming anabolic steroids.

Although the late Polish weightlifter, Zbigniew Kaczmarek made numerous attempts to defend his action at the 1976 Olympic Games, he was stripped of his gold medal and was suspended for all the upcoming weightlifting events, which served as a major shock for his home country and supporters from around the world.

Ben Johnson – Canada

It is a popular misconception that doping violations have become more common in the era of the modern Olympics. To prove that wrong, we have Canadian former sprinter Ben Johnson as the fifth athlete on our list of top five Olympians who were banned at the Olympic Games even after winning gold.

Canadian former sprinter Ben Johnson established himself as one of the finest Canadian athletes on a global level after he clinched a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and two gold medals at the 1985 World Indoor Championships, 1986 Goodwill Games, and 1986 Commonwealth Games.

However, his flourishing sprinting career came to an unprecedented halt at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Although Ben Johnson was initially crowned with a medal in the 100m event, he was later disqualified and stripped of the gold medal for being involved in doping violations for consuming “banned” steroids.

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