But another familiar scandal, drugs, also reared up again–the recurring specter that could ultimately devastate the Games. Dr. Wade Exum, the head of drug control for the U.S. Olympic Committee for nine years until he resigned last month, alleged in a federal lawsuit that U.S. officials have ignored failed drug tests by athletes who have gone on to win Olympic medals. (He did not specify any athletes by name.) “The USOC has thrown roadblocks in the path of antidoping enforcement,” said Exum, who is black and whose complaint also alleges racial discrimination. Exum’s charges may seem curious, given that he was the top man in the enforcement program. Norm Blake, executive director of the USOC, dismissed Exum’s allegations as “unfounded.” But the drug problem is hardly a delusion. In the past year a handful of elite track stars from other nations have been sanctioned after failing drug tests. And swimming records are tumbling so fast–and by such huge margins–that rumors of drug usage in the sport are rampant. Sam Freas, a former coach of Dutch swimming star Inge de Bruijn, who has broken or tied seven world records since May, says every record these days automatically comes with the suspicion that drugs are involved.
The Olympics have proved extraordinarily resilient, surviving Hitler, terrorism and politically motivated boycotts. But cynicism about the Games has never been higher. One Olympic star, asked by NEWSWEEK whether competitors used drugs, replied, at least half seriously, “Everyone but me.” When the public comes to believe only the first half of that pronouncement, the Olympics will face its greatest crisis yet.
