TOP 10
Notable drug scandals
Doping & drug infractions that rocked the sports world
July 27, 2006
 Canadian weightlifter Guy Greavette was at the centre of what became the first international drug scandal in sports at the 1983 Pan Am Games. (Canadian Press) |
Pan Am 1983: the dawn of drug testing
The modern age of drug testing essentially started at the 1983 Pan Am Games in Caracas, Venezuela. A team of scientists, led by chemist and drug-testing chief Manfred Donike of Germany, developed a new method for steroid testing in anticipation of two large international sporting events that year, the Pan Games and world track and field championships.
What followed paved the way for drug testing for years to come.
Canadian weightlifter Guy Greavette was at the centre of what became the first international drug scandal in sports. Greavette, along with teammate Michel Viau, was stripped of his medals and handed a two-year suspension after testing positive for steroids.
The Pan Am drug testing caught a lot of athletes by surprise. After Greavette's positive test, a dozen American athletes in various events suddenly withdrew from the competition and returned to the U.S., and at least another dozen athletes from other countries also left without explanation.
Nineteen athletes in total failed drug tests at the 1983 Pan Ams.
Greavette's weightlifting career never recovered, though he is still involved in the sport as a volunteer coach and executive director of B.C. Weightlifting.
In 2001, Greavette told CBC's Sports Journal that he felt he and some other athletes were made examples of while many athletes from other countries got off without penalty.