Top 10 players who have been caught for doping

Doping in sport is a common issue. While doping is more prevalent in some sports than others, such a form of cheating tarnishes the reputation of the cheaters and the sport itself.Efforts are being taken to ensure doping does not occur by implementing strict and frequent tests. A lot of high-profile athletes have been caught and received a suspension or stripped of their titles.Here are the top 10 athletes.

#10 Alberto Contador

During the 2010 Tour de France, Alberto Contador tested positive for a banned substance called clenbuterol. At the time, Contador put the blame on his food intake as very small traces of the substance were found.

Although he was cleared by the Spanish Cycling Federation of all wrongdoing, the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration in 2011. In 2012, he was found guilty of accidental ingestion of clenbuterol and was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title and his 2011 Giro d’Italia title. He was also suspended till August 2012.

#9 Kolo Toure

Kolo Toure, famous for being a part of the Arsenal ‘invincibles’ moved to Manchester City in 2009. Two years into his time at Manchester, Toure failed a drug test. Toure was apparently taking his wife’s diet pills in order to lose weight.

Although he did not intend to use the substance to improve his performance, Toure was handed a six-month suspension as ignorance is not regarded as a suitable defence.

#8 Adrian Mutu

In August 2004, Adrian Mutu became one of the first players signed by Chelsea in the Roman Abramovich era. In September 2004, Mutu failed a drug test for cocaine. He received a seven-month ban and £20,000 by the FA.

He was also banned from national football by Romanian FA after he posted an image of manager Victor Piturca as Mr. Bean on Facebook.

Here is the image.

#7 Floyd Landis

Floyd Landis rose to fame after winning the 2006 Tour de France after Armstrong’s straight victories. Landis’ urine sample during stage 17 of the race tested positive for an unusually high ratio of the hormone testosterone to the hormone epitestosterone.

In 2007, he was found guilty of doping and suspended for two years. In 2010, he admitted to doping from 2002 to 2006 and even accused his former teammate Lance Armstrong of using steroids.

#6 Shoib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif

In 2006, Pakistan cricket players Shoib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were suspended for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance called nandrolone. The duo were left out for the squad of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy.

Akhtar and Asif both maintained their innocence throughout the trial, but were given two-year and one-year suspensions respectively. However, both cricketers successfully appealed his case and were cleared just one month into the suspension.

Asif’s affair with drugs did not end there. In 2008, he was suspended by the PCB from all forms of cricket for using steroids during the IPL.

#5 Marion Jones

In one of the most shocking cases, Marion Jones went from American hero to the villain of athletics after admitting to use steroids prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Jones had won three gold medals (100 m sprint, 200 m sprint and 4x400 relay) and two bronze medals (long jump and 4x100 relay).

She was stripped of all her medals and even sentenced to six months in jail for lying during previous cases, using steroids and a cheque-fraud case. Jones was banned from attending the 2008 Beijing Olympics in any capacity.

#4 Ben Johnson

How would you react if Usain Bolt is ever caught of taking drugs? Thankfully, Bolt is clean but a similar reaction was seen after the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In the 100m race Ben Johnson set a new world record by clocking 9.79 seconds.

Johnson was found positive for banned steroid stanozolol. His gold medal and world records were subsequently removed.

Amazingly, five other participants of the final race went on to fail drug tests or be implicated to doping in some way.

Here is the video of the race.

#3 Shane Warne

Shane Warne is still regarded as the best leg-spinner in the history of cricket. He has also been credited with bowing the ‘ball of the century’. But in 2003, just one day prior to the World Cup in South Africa, Warne tested positive for a banned diuretic. Warne was sent home and suspended from the game for one year.

Throughout the proceedings, Warne claimed to be innocent and said he was given the fluid tablet by his mother and only took it to improve his appearance.

#2 Lance Armstrong

Lance Armstrong shocked the world in 2013 after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs (PED) throughout his cycling career. He was subsequently stripped of all his seven Tour de France titles and was a labelled a cheat by sports fans all over the world.

Since his first Tour de France victory in 1999, there are several accusations of Armstrong using PEDs. But the American adamantly kept denying every report that came out. He was even criticised for working with controversial trainer Michelle Ferrari. Ferrari was the mastermind in helping Armstrong beat the drug tests and win the Tour de France titles.

In 2010, a federal investigation was opened after former teammate Floyd Landis admitted to doping and accused Armstrong of the same.

Despite his good work with LiveStrong, Armstrong’s reputation in the world of sport has been tarnished for good. The Union Cycliste Internationale have banned Armstrong from competitive cycling for life.

#1 Diego Maradona

Diego Maradona is arguably the best footballer to have ever played the game. He single handedly won the world cup for Argentina in 1986 and even scored the goal of the century against England.

Maradona has been reported to be using cocaine since the 1980s until 2004 when his health condition severely worsened.

His international career was cut short after he failed a drug test for ephedrine doping at the 1994 World Cup. Maradona just played two games and even scored against Greece. Although, Maradona is open about his drug use, this was one instance where he accidentally consumed the drug.

Maradona claimed that the energy drink Rip Fuel contained the chemical only I the US version while the Argentinian one was clean. At the World Cup in America, Maradona used up his Argentinian stock and was handed the American version by his trainer.

FIFA expelled Maradona from the World Cup which led to Argentina being eliminated in the second round.

Edited by Staff Editor