Early this year, the entire country was up in arms when potentially scandalous pictures of Michael Phelps, Olympic gold medalist, began circulating on the Internet. The photo depicted Phelps smoking a bong.

Marijuana is hardly a performance-enhancing drug, and there is no proof that Phelps was taking the drug during the Olympics, but the pictures brought to light the hot-bed issue of drug use among athletes. Phelps is far from being the first athlete entangled in a drug scandal.

As long as the Olympics have existed, athletes have been caught using performance-enhancing drugs. Even in the days of the first Olympics, ancient Olympians choked down a secret concoction of lizard meat that was alleged to enhance athletes’ skills.

Thomas J. Hicks was the first Olympian documented for using drugs to enhance abilities. During the 1904 Summer Olympics marathon, Hicks drank brandy laced with strychnine. By the 1968 Olympics, the International Olympic Committiee (IOC) instated mandatory “drug use controls” to prevent what was becoming a common incident: athletes using drugs to enhance their natural capabilities.

“The problem with athletics now, and the Olympics in particular, is that so much emphasis is placed on winning and setting records rather than the joy of participating. Athletes are pressured into pushing themselves past human levels to achieve goals set by coaches, the public, and past winners,” said AYSO soccer coach Mike Schutt. “It’s not about being a team or giving it your all anymore. Now it’s about holding that world record. Many athletes justify their use of illegal stimulants in trying to achieve this aim.”

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is the organization presently in charge of athlete drug testing. Athletes now must adhere to an intensive drug testing before competing in any Olympics event. All must undergo blood and urine testing. CBC Sports reported on some of the most commonly abused drugs in the Olympics: amphetamine, andro, darbepoetin, DHEA, diuretics, ephedrine, erythropoietin, human growth hormone (HGH), insulin, methamphetamine, modafinil, nandrolone, norandroserone, stanozol, and testosterone. Most of these drugs increase heart rate, help lower body fat, and aid in building muscle.

Though hundreds of athletes throughout the years have been guilty of using drugs, some of the scandals caused bigger shockwaves than others. CBC Sports collected the top ten drug scandals of all time, and posted them online in 2003.

The biggest scandal on the list occurred before the Berlin Wall was torn down, when East Germany had the urge to prove itself as the superior race, even in athletics. Many of the competing athletes were given drugs and shots without knowledge of what they were really being given. After the wall fell in 1989, several athletes came forward to testify.

The 1983 Pan Am Games, held in Caracas, Venezuela, gave rise to modern-day drug testing when a team of scientists proved that Canadian weightlifting champion Guy Greavette and his teammate Michel Viau tested positive for steroid use. Greavette was stripped of his medals and given a two-year suspension. When news of Greavette’s drug use reached the public, dozens of other participants, including some from the US, pulled out of the games without explanation. Nineteen athletes tested positive for drug use at the Pan Am Games that year.

In 2003, Dr. Wade Exum released documents that named more than 30,000 American athletes known to use performance-enhancing drugs. These documents revealed one of the biggest cover-ups in sports history. Dr. Exum, former U.S. Olympic Committee anti-doping chief, “made the initial allegations about coverups in 2000, which led several sporting organizations – among them, the IOC, IAAF and the World Anti-Doping Agency – to pressure the USOC to re-examine how they conducted drug testing. Soon, the USOC turned over drug testing responsibilities to the newly founded U.S. Anti-Doping Agency,” CBC Sports reported.

Canada was in an uproar when one of its heroes, Ben Johnson, won the 100 meter sprint in 9.79 seconds at the Seoul Olympics in 1988. Johnson beat out his prime competition, American Carl Lewis, won the gold, and set a world record. The celebration didn’t last long when it was discovered that Johnson tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. Lewis took the title while Johnson was stripped and banned for two years. Later, it was discovered that several other competitors had tested positive, among them Lewis.

Irish swimmer Michelle Smith ranked 90th in the world for her 400 individual medley in 1993. A year later, after training with her husband, former discus thrower Erik de Bruin-who was suspended for drug use, she managed to place 17th. Smith managed to avoid drug tests for a while, but, finally, two testers showed up at her home in 1998.

“Smith gave them a sample, but because she was wearing a bulky sweater, the tester couldn’t see what she was doing. The sample was sealed and sent to a Barcelona lab for examination. The results were shocking. The sample contained a level of alcohol that would be fatal if consumed by a human. FINA concluded that the sample had been manipulated, that whiskey had been added as a masking agent and they suspended Smith for four years. “

China suddenly burst onto the swimming scene in the 1990s, winning four gold medals in Barcelona, along with 12 of the 16 women’s titles in the 1994 world championship. Such instant success sparked rumors of drug use. In the 1994 Asian Games, 11 Chinese athletes tested positive for dihydrotestosterone.

Four Chinese swimmers tested positive for drugs in the 1998 world championship, and vials of HGH were
discovered in breaststroker Yuan Yuan’s luggage. “Since 1990, over 40 swimmers have failed drug tests. After pressure from FINA, swimming’s governing body, China’s swim association promised stricter drug testing and higher penalties for cheaters.”

“Enthusiasts say the Tour de France is the biggest, hardest, most grueling race there is, a prize so precious that cyclists will do anything to win,” even at the cost of their life. In the 1967 Tour, British cyclist Tim Simpson lost his life from amphetamine-laced alcohol. French officials confiscated a vehicle driven by an employee of the Festina cycling team in 1998. The car was filled with performance-enhancing drugs, including erythropoietin. Six of the nine Festina riders admitted to using the drugs.

Drug use and baseball were never linked until Mark McGwire admitted to using the controversial drug, androstenedione (andro) in 1998. Then Jose Canseco declared in 2002 that 85% of all baseball players used steroids. Canseco later included himself in that number. In 2003, MLB announced that five to seven percent of 1,438 anonymous tests came back positive-”the equivalent of nearly 2 full major league rosters.”

Even skiers are not exempt from drug abuse. A maid uncovered blood-transfusion materials in a residence used by the Austrian skiing team during the Salt Lake City Olympics. Though claiming that the equipment was meant to treat flu and colds, two members of the team were banned for a two-year period.

In 2001, “6 Finnish skiers tested positive for HES, a banned plasma volume expander. One of the biggest doping scandals in the sport, it exposed some of Finland’s top stars including Jari Isometsa, Mika Myllyla, Janne Immonen and Harri Kirvesniemi.”

Nandrolene has become the most commonly abused drug in the sporting world today. “In January 2004, Canadian-born British tennis star Greg Rusedski joined a long list of athletes who have tested positive for nandrolone. He isn’t the only tennis player, either. According to reports, 47 players on the pro tour have tested positive for the banned steroid.”

Athletes the world over have abused drugs to get ahead. Winning a medal or holding a record have become more important than natural ability. Throughout the ages, athletes have turned to different substances to give them the advantage at the cost of their own bodies. Many of these performance-enhancing drugs can cause serious internal damage to the liver, heart, kidneys, and more. There have been several instances of death from drug abuse during games. Such rampant use of drugs during sporting events leaves one wondering, is someone really an Olympian if they have to take drugs to achieve the desired results?