Yet another edition of the Olympics came to an end with the closing ceremony of the Rio Olympics 2016 held on 21 August. More than 11,000 athletes had taken part in various disciplines across 28 different sports with the United States of America eventually topping the final medals table with a total of 121 medals followed by Great Britain and China.
While the Rio Olympics were a memorable Games for a variety of reasons, it wasn’t without its share of controversy. We take a look at such infamous moments that will go down in history.
1) Mongolian wrestling coaches strip in protest after losing bronze medal
Mongolia’s Mandakhnaran Ganzorig looked all set to win a medal in the Men's Freestyle 65 kg category when he fought Uzbekistan’s Ikhtiyor Navruzov in the bronze medal match. Leading 7-6 in the dying seconds of his bout, Ganzorig danced around in the ring and taunted the Uzbek wrestler before the hooter went off.
Ganzorig was then carried around the ring on the shoulders of one of his coaches when the judges penalised him and altered the score. The score became 7-7 after he was penalised for ‘fleeing the hold’ and a further point was lost when the team’s appeal was rejected, giving the Uzbek wrestler an 8-7 victory.
While Ganzorig sank to the mat in utter disbelief, his coaches lost their heads. They approached the judges and started stripping off their shoes and clothes, one of them eventually remonstrating with the judges in nothing but his underwear.
Mongolian coach Byambarenchin Bayaraa explained why they protested: “There was a problem with the refereeing. 3 million people in Mongolia waited for this bronze medal and now we have no medal.”
On the other hand, Navruzov celebrated with a prayer and even playfully wrestled his coach to the floor. “He tried to run. This cannot happen. I have little respect for him and for his trainer.”
2) US swimmer Ryan Lochte’s blatant lie about mugging in Rio
Rio was described as a dangerous destination for tourists and athletes alike well before the games due to the gang violence and robberies prevalent in the city’s streets and favelas, not to mention the police force also going on strike. Rio was facing a crisis and half a million visitors flocking to the city at this time only made the government sweat before lending $895 million to guarantee safety in Rio.
However, a media storm erupted when champion US swimmer Ryan Lochte claimed that he and his teammates were robbed in a taxi at gunpoint. But when the authorities investigated, they found several inconsistencies in their stories. CCTV footage also showed that they arrived back at the Olympic Village with their belongings and did not look traumatised by the supposed robbery.
The truth soon came to light when video footage showed the team of US swimmers causing damage to a gas station in Rio and not actually getting robbed in a taxi. A judge soon ordered the swimmers’ passports to be taken and not allowed to leave the country pending an investigation. While Lochte had already left, his teammates were detained.
The 32-year-old swimmer finally admitted that the story was fabricated and posted an apology on his social media pages. The swimmer lost a number of fans as a result and was heavily criticised by the US media as well.
3) Brazil fans boo pole vault silver medallist Renaud Lavillenie
The home fans at the Rio Olympic Stadium were in for a surprise when they realised that Brazil’s very own Thiago Braz da Silva had a chance to win an unexpected medal in the Men’s Pole Vault. After USA’s Sam Kendricks had been eliminated after failing to clear a height of 5.93 metres, it was a showdown between the young Brazilian and 2012 gold medallist Renaud Lavillenie of France.
That was when the event turned ugly. In what was a spit in the face of sportsmanship, Brazil fans in the arena booed the Frenchman whenever he made an attempt to clear the bar. Having broken his own Olympic record, Silva had done the same and managed to clear 6.03m.
With one final attempt to clear 6.08m, Lavillenie was booed again and, this time, he showed a thumbs-down gesture to display his disappointment at the treatment meted out to him. The Frenchman failed to clear the height giving Braz da Silva gold much to the delight of the home fans.
It took an even uglier turn when he was booed yet again at the medal ceremony. This time, the Frenchman was reduced to tears and had to be consoled by Braz da Silva and pole vault legend Sergei Bubka.
“It's disgusting, there is a total lack of fair play,” he said. It's the Olympics. If there's no respect in the Olympics, where can we get respect?”
4) Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby refuses to shake hand of Israel’s Or Sasson
Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby fought Israel’s Or Sasson in a judo match in the Round of 32 and controversy struck soon after the Israeli won the match. El Shehaby refused to shake hands with Sasson when the Israeli approached him and the incident saw the crowd boo him as he backed away.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) immediately opened a disciplinary commission and soon sent him home. But there is more to the story than meets the eye.
While it was not a personal animosity with the Israeli that led to the refusal to shake hands, it was to do with the political history between Egypt and Israel.
“Shaking the hand of your opponent is not an obligation written in the judo rules,” El Shehaby said. :It happens between friends and he’s not my friend.
“I have no problem with Jewish people or any other religion or different beliefs. But for personal reasons, you can’t ask me to shake the hand of anyone from this State, especially in front of the whole world.”
The Egyptian himself was under pressure from fans on social media who asked him to not show up for the match as it would shame Islam if he fought an Israeli. Even his brother confirmed that it was nothing personal, saying: “This is something driven perhaps by the Egyptian people, by the Egyptian regime, but it does not look to me like something personal.”
5) Bullets fly in Rio
It wasn’t just the shooting arena in Rio that saw guns shot and bullets hit or miss their targets. The equestrian venue of all places saw a stray bullet narrowly miss media persons at the venue.
Two bullets hit the venue on two different days during the Olympics. The venue is situated near a military base and a couple of favelas named Pedreira and Chapadao – both known for gang violence and drug wars.
Both bullets were fired from a long distance away and ballistics reports stated that the equestrian venue was not the intended target. However, it was confirmed that a blimp was the target.
“The first bullet that was found in the press room, according to the forensic report, was aiming at a blimp that was stationed over one of the communities,” said a Rio spokesman. “The first bullet was found to be coming from two kilometres away from Deodoro and fell into the tent at a low speed, in an angle that confirms that the [media center] was not the target.”
He also confirmed that an arrest was made and a gun that may have shot the bullet was also found.
6) Diving pool turns green
Fans and swimmers alike were left scratching their heads before the Women's Synchronised 10m Platform Final at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Stadium in Rio when the diving pool turned a dark shade of green – a stark contrast to the blue swimming and water polo pool next to it.
Nobody knew why it had happened and it even sparked a debate on social media with everyone trying to understand why it was green. From urine to algae, a number of “theories” were posted online as even divers posted tweets fearing for their own health.
“The main reason a pool normally goes green is [a] lack of sanitation,” said an expert on pool care. Either the filtration system was unable to handle that capacity of water or had simply failed
However, the organisers confirmed that there was no risk to the athletes and the events were held with no delay.
7) Great Britain men's 4x400m relay team disqualified
The 4x400m men’s relay saw Great Britain win their semi-final with a time of 2:58.88 and the quartet of Nigel Levine, Delano Williams, Matt Hudson-Smith and Martyn Rooney were even seen celebrating together while the rest of the teams crossed the line.
However, they were in for a rude shock when the officials disqualified the team and they failed to make it to the final. The reason for the disqualification was not known until much later and it was reported that the exchange of the baton between Hudson-Smith and Rooney had been deemed illegal because Rooney had started running outside the 20m changeover area.
Looking at replays of the race proved to be next to impossible as they declined to release video footage of the race and from the replays available on TV there was no proof of an infringement from the British team. A British Athletics spokesman also explained that Rio officials stuck to their original decision even though there was no conclusive proof from the footage of the race.
Even the report from International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) stated that the baton had been taken out of the exchange zone but there was nobody to explain their decision more conclusively. Brazil eventually qualified for the final as a result.
8) Russian athletes allowed to compete after major doping scandal – but not all of them
Even before the Olympics got underway, a German documentary on a massive doping scandal that went all the way up to the Russian government saw Russian athletes in danger of missing out on the Olympic Games in Rio. The World Anti-Doping Agency suddenly found itself under a microscope as the world waited for them to make a decision.
Ultimately, an independent investigation confirmed that the Russian State was involved in the manipulation of the entire doping control process. But the world was in for a shock when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed 271 athletes to compete in spite of WADA’s recommendation for a blanket ban after the truth came out regarding the state-sponsored doping programme that ran from 2011 to 2015.
Strict conditions were set for many athletes to take part and it involved and most Russian athletes who trained outside Russia were allowed to compete. But this had an adverse effect on clean athletes who had trained in their homeland and were still denied permission to compete in Rio.
One such case was champion pole vaulter Yelena Isinbaeva who had won three medals at the Olympics (including two gold medals). She was attempting to make a comeback before the devastating news hit her and even an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) did not help.
9) Indian wrestler Narsingh Yadav banned hours before his bout
India’s dreams of a possible Olympic medal in wrestling were jolted when Narsingh Yadav was tested positive when the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) conducted a test. The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist was one of India’s hopefuls in the contingent and the news set in motion a set of events that proved to be both embarrassing and unprofessional from India’s point of view.
However, he was allowed to compete after it came to light that his supplements had been sabotaged. The Wrestling Federation of India even said that he had been cleared to participate in Rio after NADA had approved his participation.
But hours before his first bout, WADA appealed and the CAS handed Yadav a four-year ban.
“WADA filed an urgent application before the CAS ad-hoc Division to challenge the decision of NADA India to exonerate Narsingh Yadav following two positive anti-doping tests with methandienone on 25 June and 5 July 2016.
“The athlete asserted thathe was the victim of sabotage (food/drink tampering) by another person. WADA requested that a 4-year period of ineligibility be imposed on the athlete.” – CAS statement
The ban meant that not only was Yadav not allowed to compete but India lost out on a spot that could have gone to another wrestler had they diligently followed due process to ensure there was no chance a WADA appeal would hamper their preparations.
Parveen Rana was named as a replacement before NADA cleared Narsingh. If they had stuck to the original plan, India would have seen a wrestler at least compete in the 74kg freestyle category.
10) Caster Semenya under the scanner again after Olympic gold medal win in 800m
South Africa’s Caster Semenya had won the women’s 800m with a time of 1:55.28 and clinched the gold medal in Rio while the likes of Canada’s Melissa Bishop and Great Britain’s Lynsey Sharp had missed out on medals after losing out on the final straight. Sharp was seen consoling a weeping Bishop (who came fourth) while Semenya also lent her support.
But it was the comments made after the race by Sharp that pushed a long-standing issue back into the spotlight – Semenya’s unnaturally high testosterone levels. The South African is a hyperandrogenic athlete – one who has excessive levels of androgens in the body.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport had overturned the IAAF’s rule to ensure that athletes with high levels of testosterone take hormone-suppressing drugs, claiming there was no evidence to suggest that such athletes had an advantage.
“I have tried to avoid the issue all year,” Sharp said when asked about the rule change “You can see how emotional it all was. We know how each other feels [about the rule change]. It is out of our control and how much we rely on people at the top sorting it out,” she said in tears.
Sharp had even written a paper on Semenya when she was in law school and English long distance runner Paula Radcliffe said she understood where Sharp was coming from with those comments.
“However hard she goes away and trains, however hard Jenny Meadows goes and trains, they are never going to be able to compete with that level of strength and recovery that those levels of elevated testosterone brings.”
Many want action taken against hyperandrogenic athletes who compete with an unfair advantage. Semenya, who is used to the constant scrutiny, only celebrated her win after crossing the finish line and declined to discuss the CAS ruling at the press conference, opting to focus on questions about the race alone.
