The 10 most proficient cheaters in the history of sports

Cheating at the Olympics seems like it’s been around as long as the Games, and that’s understandable considering how crucial the event is to athletes who only get to shine every four years. There have been plenty of individual perpetrators — Marion Jones, Michael Johnson, etc.

However, no country has made a fool out of the IOC more than mother Russia. They were exposed for basically running a Red Room for their athletes, with Russians looking like yoked-out Black Widows on the uneven bars, and somehow still sending a contingent every two years. I thought for sure we’d get a break from them during the ensuing Games.

Nope. Didn’t happen. They were rebranded as the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC on the medal leaderboards, and tallied 71 podiums at the 2022 Winter Olympics, third most overall and good for fifth in the final standings. Figure skater Kamila Valieva perhaps best encapsulates how dominant the country can be when employing its win-by-all-means tactics.

The 16-year-old prodigy helped Russia win the team event at the 2022 Games only to test positive for a banned substance. However, she faltered in her individual program, and was seen after crying as her coach simultaneously shunned/yelled at her. The Russians are fucked up on so many levels, but it’s hard to argue with the results.