2024 Paris Olympic Games: Biggest scandals of the Games

Whenever an Olympic Games is on scandal isn’t too far away and Paris has been no exception. These are the biggest scandals to engulf the 2024 Olympic Games.

Whenever an Olympic Games is on scandal isn’t too far away and Paris has been no exception.

From drug arrests to drone spies to animal abuse videos, Paris has endured some moments officials would rather have done without.

These are the biggest scandals to engulf the 2024 Olympic Games.

Aussie coach’s unAustralian act

The Australian swimming team was in uproar after it was discovered coach Michael Palfrey had been training a top South Korean rival against team rules. To add insult to injury, Palfrey told Korean media he hoped the South Korean won gold in Paris … against the Aussies. Team officials labelled Palfrey unAustralian but, ultimately, he was able to remain at the Olympics and will face the music back in Australia. An unwelcome distraction for the Dolphins on the eve of their medals push.

Disgraced Australian swim coach Michael Palfrey was allowed to remain in Paris. Picture: Adam Head

Horse abuse video rocks Team GB

Charlotte Dujardin was on track to become Great Britain’s most successful Olympian ever. Rumour had it a Damehood was in her future once the Paris Games wrapped up. But the legendary equestrian never set foot on the lawns of Versailles after a four-year-old video emerged showing Dujardin “whipping a horse 24 times like a circus elephant”. While eyebrows were raised about the timing of the video’s release, the damage to Dujardin’s reputation was immeasurable and she promptly withdrew from the Pairs Games.

The video footage that brought Charlotte Dujardin undone.

Drone furore rocks women’s football

Canada’s use of a drone to spy on New Zealand training drills ahead of the women’s football competition seemed pretty cut and dry. They did it, the two officials behind it were sent home and head coach Beverly Priestman stood down from the first match in a show of good faith. The end, right? Wrong. What followed was a bizarre series of investigations which showed Canada’s use of spy drones dated back years with Priestman the core driver of the practice. Canadian football chiefs stood Priestman down indefinitely, the team was docked six competition points and there have even been calls for Canada to be stripped of its Tokyo Olympics gold medal which – bizarrely – would elevate Australia’s Matildas to bronze.

The drone scandal derailed Canada's entire Olympics campaign.

Boxing gender war explodes

The International Boxing Association banned Algeria’s Imane Khelif and Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Tin from competitions after claiming both women failed sex tests that stated they both carried the XY chromosome that gave them an unfair advantage over female opponents. The IOC allowed both to compete in the Olympic women’s boxing competition, with both Khelif and Yu-Tin making it to their gold medal bouts in their respective weight divisions. The IOC claims the women should be able to compete and the IBA is corrupt. The IBA claims the IOC is corrupt and the women should be removed. It is a fight that has ignited a huge gender debate and puts boxing at risk of being dumped from future Olympics.

Imane Khelif in action during her run to the gold medal bout. Picture: Getty Images

Doping scandal engulfs Chinese swimmers … Again

Two Chinese swimmers stood down for 12 months by the World Anti-Doping Agency were later cleared of any wrongdoing after WADA accepted a ruling by Chinese regulators CHINADA that the athletes had been contaminated by eating tainted burger meat. The bombshell announcement during the Paris Games came three months after news that 23 Chinese swimmers were secretly exonerated after testing positive to a banned heart drug in 2021. Legitimate findings from CHINADA or just another example of WADA being too lenient on the global sporting power.

Stefanovic savages French people with bizarre claims

Channel 9 personality Karl Stefanovic raised more than a few eyebrows when he told an Australian radio show he thought the French people were “rude”, “up themselves” and “kind of a weird nation, sexually”. Stefanovic was in Paris for Nine’s coverage of the Olympics. The network tried to pass the interview off as a joke but it certainly didn’t come across that way for listeners.

Karl Stefanovic and Ally Langdon in Paris for the start of the Olympic Games. Picture: Instagram

Missing star’s bizarre security bust-up

Three-time Olympic gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was a notable absentee from the women’s 100m semi finals at Stade de France. But mystery surrounds why she missed her shot at 100m glory in Paris. A video circulating on social media showed the Jamaican star being denied entry to the stadium prior to her race after she opted to travel to the venue on her own rather than catching the team bus. Jamaican officials later said she missed the semis after injuring herself during warm-ups. Which story is true remains to be discovered.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was refused entry into the althetics. Picture: X

Aussie Coke-aburra takes shine of our Games

The AOC was sent scrambling on day 12 of the Olympic Games after reports emerged hockey star Tom Craig had been arrested the night before while trying to buy cocaine on the streets of Paris and then running from police. A tired and dishevelled Craig emerged from a Paris police station some 18 hours after being taken into custody where he apologised for his actions and was promptly shuttled off by officials. Craig escaped conviction and fines and his position with the Kookaburras remains in doubt.

Australian hockey player Tom Craig sits on the footpath in Paris after being arrested for buying cocaine.

Sexist commentator gets the boot

“Well, the women just finishing up. You know what women are like … hanging around, doing their make-up.” So said Eurosport commentator Bob Ballard as Australian swimming champions Mollie O’Callaghan, Emma McKeon, Meg Harris and Shayna Jack collected their gold medals in the 4x100m freestyle relay and didn’t leave the pool zone straight away. The outrage at the sexist remarks was swift, both from his on-air colleagues and the audience. Ballard’s time commentating at the Paris Games was quicker still. The veteran was axed not long after.

Bob Ballard (bottom left) was removed from the commentary team after his comments. Picture: Twitter

Originally published as 2024 Paris Olympic Games: Biggest scandals of the Games