Olympians Who Were Sent to Prison (149)

Athlete Nation(s) Sport(s) Role(s) Era Notes
Bruce Akers AUS WRE Olympics 1972—1976 Sentenced in 2018 to eighteen months, of which six were spent in prison, for starving dozens of horses he raised on his property.
Janez Albreht SLO
YUG
IHO Olympics 1976 Shot his wife and sent to prison for 5 years and 11 months for attempted murder.
Aleksandr Alenitsyn RUS TEN Olympics 1912 Imprisoned and tortured by the Bolsheviks for “having contacts with other countries”.
Constantin Apostol ROU EJP Olympics 1936 Imprisoned for 5 years (1959-64), because he was considered against the Romanian social order.
Pietro Aurino ITA BOX Olympics 1996 Sentenced to ten years in prison (reduced to eight) for outside aid in a Camorrist criminal association, drug peddling and arms trade.
Abdul Wahid Aziz IRQ WLF Olympics 1960 Twice for his leftist views; in February 1963 for during the Ramadan Revolution, and between August 8, 1980 and mid-1981 under the regime of Sadaam Hussein
Nathan Baggaley AUS CSP Olympics 2000—2004 He pleaded guilty to supplying and manufacturing ecstasy in 2009. He was sentenced to nine years in jail, but was released early in 2011.
Yomi Bankole NGR TTE Olympics 1988—1992 Spent four years in prison for armed robbery.
Boris Becker GER TEN Olympics 1992 In 2022 Becker was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for breaching bankruptcy laws during his bankruptcy proceedings in London.
Patrick Bogere SWE BOX Olympics 2004 In 2006, he was sentenced to four years in prison for an armed robbery, but was released after 2 years for good behavior on probation again. He then continued his boxing career.
Alfried von Bohlen und Halbach GER SAL Olympics 1936 In 1948 he was sentenced to 12 years for “crimes against humanity”, but pardoned after three years in prison.
Arne Borg SWE SWM Olympics 1920—1928 After Borg failed to show up for conscription and went on holiday, he was briefly imprisoned.
Hicham Bouaouiche MAR ATH Olympics 1996 Sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing a policeman in France during a robbery gone wrong in December 2000
Dick Boushka USA BKB Olympics 1956 In December 2002 Boushka pleaded guilty in federal court to defrauding American Bank of more than $17 million for various real estate deals. He pleaded guilty to two counts of bank fraud and one count each of making a false statement to obtain a bank loan and omission of information for the sale of a security, and was eventually sentenced to a 70-month prison term.
Riddick Bowe USA BOX Olympics 1988 Sentenced to 18 months in jail for kidnapping his estranged wife and children.
Gregor Braun FRG CTR Olympics 1976 In 2023 he was sentenced to two years and nine months for child abuse.
Alajos Bruckner HUN SWM 1906 / Non-starter 1906—1908 After 1945, for his activities during the war, he was sentenced to prison and died in the prison hospital.
Jiří Bubla CZE
TCH
IHO Olympics 1976—1980 Sentenced to five years in prison in Vienna for smuggling heroin
Gustav Bubník CZE
TCH
FIN
IHO Olympics / Coach 1948—1968 Imprisoned for "planning to defect".
Jean-Luc Cairon FRA GAR Olympics 1984 Died in prison while serving a 100 year sentence for child sexual abuse
Pierfrancesco Campana SUI ATH Non-starter 1952 In 1982 he was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment
Jean Caplin GBR SWM Olympics 1948 Sentenced to two six month terms, to run consecutively, on 15 December 1952, on 13 counts of theft. The sentence was later commuted to two years probation on appeal.
Adnan Ćatić GER BOX Olympics 2000 Jailed for tax evasion.
Mario Cipollini ITA CRD Olympics 1996 In 2022 he was sentenced to three years in prison for domestic abuse.
Quincey Clark USA WRE Olympics 2000 Imprisoned in 2022 on child sexual abuse charges.
Cassius Clay USA BOX Olympics 1960 In 1967 he was convicted for refusing to serve in the US Army and sentenced to 5 years in prison. His jail sentence was eventually overturned in the Supreme Court.
Jean Conrath FRA ATH Olympics 1976 Sports agent, he was sentenced to three months in prison and a fine of 8,000 euros for hosting fifteen Kenyan athletes "in conditions contrary to human dignity", in 2005.
George Daniels GHA ATH Olympics / Non-starter 1972—1976 Has been senetenced for 7 years to prison in 2004 for defiling his own niece.
Alex de Jesús PUR BOX Olympics 2004 In 2010 he was sentenced to 4 years for domestic violence and weapons offences.
Yvonne de Ligne BEL FSK Olympics 1932—1936 Hired a killer to murder her husband and sent to prison for 15 years.
Stefan Denifl AUT CRD Olympics 2016 In January 2021, sentenced to 24 months in prison for commercial fraud for his role in Operation Aderlass, a blood doping scheme, although 16 months of the sentence were suspended.
Charles Dewachtere BEL ATH Olympics 1952 Received a 30 month prison sentence following an altercation that occurred shortly after his Olympic appearance
Đỗ Tiến Tuấn VIE BOX Olympics 1988 Imprisoned for life in 1999 after being convicted of murder
Ion Draica ROU WRE Olympics 1980—1984 Sentenced to three years for a case of fraud and tax evasion, reduced in part for health problems.
Daniel Dumitrescu ROU BOX Olympics 1988—1992 Arrested in Rome for theft of wallets in 2009
Christophe Dupouey FRA MTB Olympics 1996—2000 In 2006, he was found to be involved in a widespread doping scandal involving "pot belge", a mixture of cocaine, amphetamine and heroin that was used for performance enhancement on the Kermesse circuit. He served a three-month jail sentence.
Jerry Dusenberry USA BOX Referee 1992 Sentenced to 10 years in prison for youth sexual abuse
Róbert Éder HUN ROW Olympics 1908 In 1921, he was sentenced for six months jail for high treason and in 1931, for eight months prison for deception.
Alberto Egea VEN ART Olympics 1932 Arrested after criticizing the government of Pérez Jiménez
Falih Fahmi IRQ ATH Olympics / Other 1960 Imprisoned, and later executed, for insulting Saddam Hussein in front of his fellow military officers
Péter Farkas HUN WRE Olympics 1992—1996 Sentenced to five years in prison for running a marijuana farm. Escaped, but later re-captured, and the sentence increased to seven years.
Rich Fellers USA EJP Olympics 2012 Pleaded guilty to engaging in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and two counts of second-degree sexual abuse in July 2023, and sentenced to four years in prison.
Adam Forsyth AUS BOX Olympics 2004 In February 2023 he was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being caught with $84 million worth of methamphetamine (meth).
Thomas Gerull FRG FEN Olympics 1988 In 2015-16 Thomas and his twin brother Michael Gerull were involved in one of the most sensational investor scandals in Germany in recent years, in which around 25,000 small investors lost their money. Both were sentenced to prison for eight and seven years.
Toby Gibson USA BOX Olympics 1964 Served time in prison for armed robbery.
Harry Gill GBR GAR Olympics 1908 Sentenced to 12 months in 1936 for 50 counts of embezzlement and other charges.
Armand Grenet FRA RGB Olympics 1920 Spent one year in prison for stealing 400,000 francs from his work
Brittney Griner USA BKB Olympics 2016—2020 Jailed in Russia on 4 August 2022 after pleading guilty to illegally carrying cannabis-infused vape cartridges in her luggage at Moscow airport. Sentenced to nine years in prison, she was released on 8 December 2022 in a prisoner exchange between the United States and Russia.
Rob Groenhuyzen NED VVO Olympics 1964 Imprisoned for three years for politically motivated attacks on objects.
Fethi Gürcan TUR EVE Olympics 1956 Imprisoned, and later executed, for his role in an attempted coup against the Turkish government.
Přemysl Hajný CZE
TCH
YUG
IHO Olympics / Coach 1948—1976 Imprisoned for "planning to defect".
Toni Hannula FIN WRE Olympics 1984 Spent ten years in prison between 1989 and 2010 for crimes of violence and robbery
Audley Harrison GBR BOX Olympics 2000 Jailed for robbery in his teens
Bob Hayes USA ATH Olympics 1964 Served a two-year jail term for possession and trafficking in illegal drugs.
Clarence Hill BER BOX Olympics 1976 He ended up in prison twice, once for cocaine possesion and once for armed robbery.
Raimo Hirvonen FIN WRE Olympics 1972 Spent time in prison for crimes of violence and robbery
Trevor Jacob USA SBD Olympics 2014 Sentenced to six months for "Obstruction of a Federal Investigation" into an incident where he crashed his own plane for a stunt on social media.
Ravivimal Jayewardene SRI SHO Olympics 1964 Imprisoned briefly in 1971 for alleged complicity in the JVP insurrection.
David Jenkins GBR ATH Olympics 1972—1980 Sentenced to seven years in prison, but served just nine months for smuggling steroids.
Marion Jones USA ATH Olympics 2000—2004 Sentenced to six-months in jail for perjury related to doping offenses, serving began in March 2008.
Jeff Julian NZL ATH Olympics 1960—1964 Sentence to 2 years in prison in 2000 for conspiracy to defraud.
Ignac Kavec SLO
YUG
IHO Olympics 1976 In 2013 he was sentenced to 4 years in prison for extortion.
Vladimír Kobranov CZE
TCH
IHO Olympics 1948 Imprisoned for "planning to defect".
Aleksandr Kolchinsky URS
UKR
WRE Olympics 1976—1980 Was sentenced to seven years of prison on extortion charges in 1994, but was paroled by Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma in 1996.
Stanislav Konopásek CZE
TCH
IHO Olympics 1948 Imprisoned for "planning to defect".
Jozef Koščak TCH
SVK
ATH Olympics 1928 Imprisoned in the 1950s for five years on false charges of treason and espionage before being cleared of all charges.
Pablo Lara CUB WLF Olympics 1992—1996 He was imprisoned for several years for possession of firearms.
Ron Laycock AUS WLF Olympics 1988—1992 Jailed for over three months in 2014 during trials on drug supply and weapons possession charges.
Tamara Lazakovich BLR
URS
GAR Olympics 1972 Unhappiness with her life led her to alcoholism, which resulted in several jail sentences.
John Nelson Le Fevre GBR SHO Olympics 1908 Imprisoned five times between 1912-35 on various fraud, deception and bankruptcy offences.
Wayne LeBombard USA SSK Olympics 1964—1968 In 1987 he was arrested and sentenced to 45 days in jail for stealing money from a bike shop.
Knut Lindberg SWE ATH Olympics / 1906 1906—1912 In 1910 Lindberg was convicted of killing a taxi driver but only served seven months.
Spyros Louis GRE ATH Olympics 1896 Imprisoned on charges of falsifying military documents in 1926. He spent more than a year in jail before his trial on 28 June 1927, when was acquitted.
Béla Lőwig HUN BOX Olympics 1924 Lőwig worked as a bodyguard for the fascist Hungarian Prime Minister, Ferenc Szálasi. In 1946 Löwig was sentenced to three years in prison.
Lu Jun CHN FBL Referee 2000 Sentenced in 2012 to five and a half years in prison for corruption (bribes to fix matches).
Raimo Majuri FIN NCB Olympics 1964—1968 Jailed for 6 years in the 1970s in Denmark for drug smuggling
Humberto Mariles MEX EJP/EVE Olympics 1948—1952 In 1964 he was imprisoned after shooting a man, but was released by presidential pardon. In 1972 he was arrested in Paris for drug-smuggling but died in prison before coming to trial.
Viktor Mazin RUS
URS
WLF Olympics 1980 imprisoned at the age of 16 for theft.
Hamish McLachlan AUS ROW Olympics 1988 A stockbroker, he was accused of transferring his own share options, which were falling in value, to his clients’ accounts in 1996-97. In 2004 he was found guilty and ordered to serve a nine-year jail sentence.
Scott Miller AUS SWM Olympics 1996 In 2022 sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to several charges including supplying methamphetamine and heroin and participating in a criminal group.
Bohumil Modrý CZE
TCH
IHO Olympics 1948 Imprisoned for "planning to defect".
Houshang Montazeralzohour IRI WRE Olympics 1976 Imprisoned and tortured for nearly two months prior to his execution for alleged insurrection against the state
Tim Montgomery USA ATH Olympics 1996—2000 In May 2008 sentenced to 46 months in prison for his role in a check-fraud and money laundering scheme. In October 2008 sentenced to five-years in prison for heroin dealing.
Pierre Mony FRA FBL Non-starter 1920 On May 15, 1928 Many shot and killed his friend Jean Delpierre (former cycling champion) since he suspected that he was a lover of his wife. The jury acquitted it.
Simo Morri FIN SHO Olympics 1968 Sentenced to life in prison (later reduced to 11 years) for murder after shooting dead his wife.
Mun Seong-Gil KOR BOX Olympics 1984 Sentenced to six months in prison for molesting a woman
Cyril Musil CZE
TCH
CCS Olympics 1936 Imprisoned for espionage and illegal gun ownership after a staged trial
László Muskát HUN ATH Olympics 1924 He was imprisoned for a year in 1958, but it was never established why.
Fabian Muyaba ZIM ATH Olympics 1988—1992 In 2009, he was sentenced to 10 years for defrauding the US government.
Naidangiin Tüvshinbayar MGL JUD Olympics / Administrator 2008—2021 Sentenced to 16 years after killing someone in a drunken brawl
Vincenzo Nardiello ITA BOX Olympics 1988 Sentenced to three years and four months in prison for extortion and two years and six months for threats
Marvin Nash CAN ATH Olympics 1976 Imprisoned in the early 1990s for selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer.
Arslan Nepesov TKM Administrator 2006 In 2008 arrested in Ashgabat and sentenced to seven years in prison.
Jeremy Nobis USA ALP Olympics 1994 Imprisoned for repeated episodes of DUI, and died while in prison in Cedar City, Utah.
Petter Northug NOR CCS Olympics / Other 2010—2014 In 2020 he was sentenced to seven months in prison.
Doug Northway USA SWM Olympics 1972—1976 In 1997 he pleaded guilty to attempted molestation of a 9-year-old girl he was coaching and was sentenced to four months in prison, four months of house arrest, and lifetime probation.
Matti Nykänen FIN SJP Olympics 1984—1988 He was found guilty of aggravated assault and sentenced to a 26-month jail term in October 2004, but since it was his first offense, he was released from jail in September 2005. While on probation, he was re-arrested four days later for again abusing Tapola. Nykänen was convicted again for four months on 16 March 2006, but soon after his release he stabbed a man in a pizza restaurant in Korpilahti. This time he was sentenced to two years in prison, but the term was later shortened to 60 days and 57 hours of community service.
Rudel Obreja ROU BOX Olympics 1984 Sentenced to 5 years in prison for money laundering, tax evasion and bribery (2018).
Godwin Okpara NGR FBL Olympics 2000 In August 2005, Okpara was arrested by French police on charges of raping his 13 year-old adopted daughter. He was found guilty and imprisoned in June 2007 for 10 years. His wife, Linda Okpara, accused of torture on the same person has been condemned to 15 years in jail.
Sylvester Omodiale NGR ATH Olympics 2000 In 2006 he was sentenced to 4 years in prison for smuggling cocaine.
Sebahattin Öztürk TUR WRE Olympics 1992—1996 After 16 months in prison during the trials he was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months for having founded a criminal organization.
Igor Paklin KGZ
URS
EUN
ATH Olympics 1988—1992 In 1995 imprisoned for manslaughter.
Vasilios Papageorgopoulos GRE ATH Olympics / Other 1972—1976 In 2013 he was sentenced to life in prison from embezzling €18,000,000 during his time as mayor of Thessaloniki.
Park Myung-Soo KOR BKB Coach 2004 Sentenced on 5 July 2007 to 10 months in prison for sexual harassment.
Arthur Parkin NZL HOC Olympics 1972—1984 In 2018 he was sentenced to 20 months in prison for indecently assaulting young girls
Brian Phelps GBR DIV Olympics 1960—1964 Charged with rape, attempted rape, and 19 indecent assaults on females under the age of 15 between 1976 and 1986. In May 2008, he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three young girls at his gymnastics club during the 1970s and 80s and was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Oscar Pistorius RSA ATH Olympics / Other 2012 In 2014 he was sentenced to 5 years in prison for culpable homicide.
Ľudovít Plachetka CZE BOX Olympics 1996 Served nine years for murder and attempted murder. Released then later convicted of sexual offences.
István Prihoda HUN SHO Olympics 1912 His car caused a fatal accident, for which he was sentenced to 1 year prison
Manuel Puig CUB ROW Olympics 1948 Puig was a member of Brigade 2506 that attempted to assist the US-backed Bay of Pigs (Bahía de Cochinos) invasion in 1961. In March 1961 Puig was arrested. He was executed by firing squad one month later. His brother, Ramón, was sentenced to 30 years hard labor for his role in resisting the Castro government, but he was later released and escaped to Miami.
Ramón Puig CUB ROW Olympics 1948 Condemned to 30 years of hard labor in various Cuban prisons, including La Cabaña, Isla de Pinos, El Príncipe, Melena del Sur, and Sandino. Eventually was released and escaped to Miami, Florida.
Warren Richards AUS JUD Olympics 1976 Arrested and found guilty for drug trafficking.
Steve Riddick USA ATH Olympics 1976 In 2007 he was convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud, and money laundering, and sentenced to federal prison for five years and three months for counterfeiting checks.
Murray Riley AUS ROW Olympics 1952—1956 In 1966 he was jailed for a year in New Zealand on charges of attempting to bribe a police inspector. In 1978 he was arrested after 4.3 tons of cannabis was found onboard a yacht. Riley pleaded guilty and was sentenced by Judge Kenneth Torrington to 5-10 years in jail.
Julio César Rocha López NCA Administrator 1997—2009 Arrested in 2015 in Zurich for corruption, extradited and imprisoned in the United States until his death.
Václav Roziňák CZE
TCH
IHO Olympics 1948 Imprisoned for "planning to defect".
Dick Rydze USA DIV Olympics 1972 In March 2018 he was sentenced to ten years in prison for illegally distributing anabolic steroids.
Besu Sado ETH ATH Olympics 2016 In January 2023 given a life sentence for the murder of her husband, along with two of her brothers, and two other assailants. Only Sado and one brother were convicted, as the others escaped and were not caught as of March 2023.
Manuel Sanguily CUB SWM Olympics / Other 1952—1956 In 2010, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison for large-scale prescription fraud.
Luigi Sartor ITA FBL Olympics 1996 Arrested on 19 December 2011 for the "Last Bet" investigation in football betting. He remained in prison for two months and two months under house arrest. In 2021 he was placed under house arrest for growing a marijuana farm.
Thomas Schleicher AUT JUD Olympics 1996 Committed suicide while in prison.
Brian Schumacher GBR BOX Olympics 1984 Served 23 years for murder after killing his mother's partner.
Wolfgang Schwarz AUT FSK Olympics 1964—1968 In 2002 he was sentenced to 1½ years in prison on trafficking charges related to importing young Lithuanian girls to Austria to serve as prostitutes. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in August 2006 for plotting to kidnap the daughter of a Romanian businessman.
Lebogang Shange RSA ATH Olympics 2016 Jailed for 10 years in 2023 for rape
Guðmundur Sigurjónsson CAN
ISL
GLM/IHO Non-Medal / Coach 1908—1920 The last man to be sentenced to prison for homosexual acts in Iceland. Some years later he received a Royal Pardon by the King of Denmark.
Ayouba Ali Sihame COM SWM Olympics 2012 In January 2013, she pleaded guilty to using false documents to avoid being married against her will and was sentenced to eight months in jail.
Bill Silkworth USA SHO Olympics 1924 On 29 November 1929, he was found guilty of using the mails to defraud and was sentenced to a short jail term and fined several thousand dollars.
Gurbir Singh Sandhu IND SHO Olympics 1976 The former international trap shooter was convicted for possessing tusks of wild boar without a licence under the Wildlife (Protection) Act in 2017. The court had also imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on him and he was released on submitting a surety bond of Rs 1 lakh.
Amerjit Singh GBR WRE Olympics 1996 Sentenced to six and a half years in prison for arms and ammunition trading.
James Snook USA SHO Olympics 1920 Found guilty of murder and later suffered the death penalty.
Hope Solo USA FBL Olympics / Non-starter 2004—2016 Sent to jail for 30 days and got a further two year suspended sentence for driving impaired.
Yevhen Sotnykov UKR JUD Olympics 2008 Sentenced to life imprisonment for murder
Doc Strong USA WRE Olympics 1936 Committed suicide in a jail cell where he sat for public drunkenness.
Sergey Suslin RUS
URS
JUD Olympics 1972 Sentenced to 9 years in prison in 1981 for robbery and other criminal acts.
Patric Suter SUI ATH Olympics 2004 In 2009 Suter was arrested for the murder of a married couple and later sentenced to life imprisonment. He had belonged to a so-called "snowball circle". Due to his drug addiction, he was in financial difficulties and wanted to renovate this way.
Lang Tombong Tamba GAM Administrator 2009—2010 Imprisoned for allegedly plotting a coup attempt
Tin Tun MYA BOX Olympics 1964—1968 Imprisoned as "political dissident".
Regilio Tuur NED BOX Olympics 1988 In 2003, he was sentenced to 20 months in jail for various violence offences, including the beating of his wife and the assault of a police officer.
Masato Uchishiba JPN JUD Olympics 2004—2008 In February 2013 sentenced to five years in prison for raping a student he had been coaching.
Iñaki Urdangarín ESP HBL Olympics 1992—2000 Sentenced to 6 years and three months for his part in a political scandal, embezzlement and money laundering in 2017. He stayed out of prison on appeal, and in June 2018 his sentence was reduced to five years and 10 months. However, he had to start the sentence within five days of the ruling by a judge in Palma de Mallorca.
Félix Verdejo PUR BOX Olympics 2012 Received two life sentences for kidnapping, drugging, and murdering his pregnant girlfriend.
Roberto Verdesia CRC Administrator 2008 Final sentence to 15 years in prison in 2021 for tax fraud.
Alexis Vila CUB WRE Olympics 1996 Served 3 years in prison (2004-07) for alleged attempted terrorism at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Sentence to 15 years in prison in 2020 after being found guilty as an accessory to second-degree murder.
José Vilchis MEX GAR Olympics 1968 Glasgow announced in February 2023 former gymnastics coach Jose Vilchis sentenced to 96 yrs for Criminal Sexual Assault of Female Gymnast
Peter Wakefield AUS BOX Olympics 2004 In 2017 he was sentenced to 4½ years in prison for drug trafficking.
René Weller FRG BOX Olympics 1976 In 1999 he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment due to cocaine dealing, dealing in stolen goods and forgery, but was released in 2003.
Ricardo Williams, Jr. USA BOX Olympics 2000 In 2005 he was arrested and convicted of conspiracy to traffic in cocaine and was sentenced to three years in jail. After serving 31 months, he was released.
Jesse Williamson USA ROW Non-Medal 1904 Served eight years in prison for embezzlement.
Daniele Zappaterra ITA BOX Olympics 1976 Imprisoned for some months in 1982-83 for terrorist gang activities and sentenced to four years in prison (2008-12) for possession and trafficking in illegal drugs.