To be an Olympic champion, you gotta be the best. To be number one on this show means you’re probably the worst. Ash and Alaina from Parcast Network’s Crime Countdown explore the crimes and scandals that rocked the world’s most prestigious sports event. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Building a massive doping operation to cheat the Olympics was one thing, but for Russia, keeping it secret was the bigger challenge. After one of its former athletes blew the whistle on the operation, Putin oversaw a massive cover-up that saw top officials fleeing the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

For Vladimir Putin and Russia, the Olympics were not simply a sports competition; they were a show of power on the world stage. And ahead of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, the national team was criminally advantaged—by a top-secret, state-sponsored steroid program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2013, a year after signing one of the biggest contract extensions ever granted a tight end, Hernandez was involved in yet another shooting. His career, and his life, collapsed after his arrest.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the University of Florida, Aaron Hernandez won two national championships and the John Mackey Award for best tight end. He went on to play for the New England Patriots, earning millions. But behind closed doors, he was reckless and violent… And a murder plot gone wrong only made him more frenzied.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the mid-to-late ‘90s, during the second half of his NBA career, Dennis Rodman struggled to maintain his celebrity. As his star faded, he resorted to more and more outrageous antics to get the public's attention. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He went from college dropout to one of the most dominant NBA defenders of all time. But Dennis Rodman’s tough childhood in the 1960s and ‘70s left him with a need for attention that threatened to overshadow everything he worked for. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As the 1910 baseball season came to a close, few were focused on the World Series. Instead, fans all over the U.S. were clamoring to know whether Ty Cobb or Nap Lajoie had finished the season with the highest batting average. What they didn’t know was that one player’s team was trying to cheat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In April of 1910, the baseball season began, with even more on the line than usual. Whoever had the highest batting average across the American and National Leagues would be awarded a brand-new Chalmers 30 automobile—a baseball promotion that would become a full-blown embarrassment after officials tried to fix the results. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

FIFA president João Havelange built international soccer into a global marketing phenomenon—and used it as his own personal piggy bank. Though he got away with perpetuating a cycle of corruption and cronyism for years, eventually his scandals would finally come to light in 1998. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was an Olympic athlete and marketing genius. With the help of some well-connected friends, João Havelange soon rose to the top of international sports and became the president of FIFA in 1974. But behind closed doors, Havelange profited off of bribes and attempted to seal his legacy with corruption and nepotism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He made headlines in 1920’s England after running ringers in some high-profile horse races. Finding he could no longer work in England, Peter Barrie travelled across the pond to the United States, where he once again tried to cheat his way into fortune and fame. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He was one of the most skilled and prolific horse racing cheaters of the early 20th century. Peter Christian Barrie got his start in Australia, but quickly struck it big in England after discovering his talent for painting horses. But like any gambler, Barrie insisted on pushing his luck well past its breaking point. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Only in his mid-20s, Rae Carruth's life was already hanging by a thread. His career as an NFL wide receiver was shattered, and he was running out of money. In 1999, at his lowest point, he even hired men to murder his pregnant girlfriend, Cherica Adams. After the shooting, Carruth tried to dodge the consequences of his crime, but he couldn't escape justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1999, 25-year-old Carolina Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth destroyed his career and life when he paid a hitman to murder his girlfriend, Cherica Adams. The two hadn’t been in a real relationship for a long time, but were inexorably tied together… Adams was eight months pregnant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After retiring from the MLB in 1972, Denny McClain had no idea what to do next. Baseball was the only thing he knew. Desperate to make a living, he turned to a life of crime—including fraud, drug dealing, and numerous other federal offenses. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are thrilled to bring you a brand new episode of Sports Criminals today and for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. In 1968, Detroit Tigers pitcher Denny McClain became the first person in over three decades to win 30 games. But his career was derailed by injuries, gambling, and a refusal to follow the rules. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you enjoy the true stories told in Sports Criminals, check out this episode from our series Unsolved Murders: The mysterious circumstances surrounding Sonny Liston's death in 1971 from an alleged heroin overdose still drew suspicion. As police and journalists looked into his death years later, they discovered more than a few viable suspects. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you enjoy the true stories told in Sports Criminals, check out this episode from our series Unsolved Murders: Former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston had a drive and motivation that was infectious. So when Geraldine Liston hadn’t heard from her husband for a few days, she didn’t think much of it. Then she returned home from a trip and found him at the foot of their bed...dead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1980, Rosie Ruiz beat out past champions to win the Boston Marathon. Other runners and reporters were shocked as they watched Ruiz take her place on the winner’s stage. But the truth was that Ruiz hadn’t run the race at all.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices