A matter of Substance
A matter of Substance
Everyone anxiously awaits the verdict to be passed in the wake of Maria Sharapova's shocking 'drug abuse' episode. She has already been handed a provisional suspension. At times like these it's easy to ponder what makes such unfortunate events to come to pass. But unfortunate as it may be, it's the staggering number of times these incidents reoccur that should concern us. Here we take a look at some of the most famous of the lot.
Everyone anxiously awaits the verdict to be passed in the wake of Maria Sharapova's shocking 'drug abuse' episode. She has already been handed a provisional suspension. At times like these it's easy to ponder what makes such unfortunate events to come to pass. But unfortunate as it may be, it's the staggering number of times these incidents reoccur that should concern us. Here we take a look at some of the most famous of the lot.
Lance Armstrong
Conquering a life threatening battle against cancer, to going on to winning the Tour De France seven consecutive times sure does make a perfect fairy-tale. But this fairy-tale of Lance Armstrong had the mother of darkest twists awaiting, as he was tested positive for drug abuse 5 years after winning his last title. Armstrong admitted the allegation & was stripped off all the his titles.
Shane Warne
The Spin Magician from down-under was all set to assist his teammates in their 2003 Cricket World Cup concept, only to be handed a 12 month ban for testing positive to a banned diuretic. Warne claimed that the drug was given to him for medicinal purposes by his mother, but the ACB went ahead and handed him the ban which denied him the World Cup celebrations.
Diego Maradona
Argentina's prima-donna footballer was known for his alleged indulgence in substances through his career. Prior to the 1994 World Cup, Maradona had almost single-handedly led his country in successful world cup campaigns in 1986 and 1990. In 1994, he was instrumental in his team's victories in the first two group stage matches. It was during the third match against Bulgaria that Maradona was called off the pitch & taken to doping control after being tested positive for ephedrine. This act saw him being expelled by FIFA from the World cup and effectively ended the 33 year old star's international career.
Marion Jones
In the 2000 Olympics, USA athlete Marion Jones became the first woman to win 5 medals in a single Olympic. But following the investigation of Balco affair which accused a number of athletes for drug intake, Marion Jones pleaded guilty to using performance-enhancing drugs. She was consequently stripped off all her medals and various prizes she had won since 1999. Her plight didn't end there, as she was later incarcerated for 6 months for alleged check fraud & her involvement in drug usage scandal.
Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson became the fastest man in history when he set a 9.79 seconds 100m record at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. But this glory was short lived as he was tested positive for consuming steroids. He was made to give up his medal & relinquish the record. As it turned out, 6 out of the 8 athletes who ran the race failed the drug test - which led the media to name the race as 'dirtiest race in history'.