Alexander Leipold (born 2 June 1969 in Alzenau in Unterfranken) is a German former freestyle wrestler who won the German Championships eleven times, the European Championships three times, the World Championships in 1994, and won the tournament at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

but was later stripped of his gold medal for doping.

Wrestling career

Leipold won the German Junior Championships in

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling. It is one of two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games, along with Greco-Roman wrestling, Greco-Roman. scholastic wrestling, High school wrestling and men's collegiate wrestling in the U ...

in 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1989, and was runner-up in 1987. After being runner-up in the German Championships in 1988 and 1989, he won in 1991, 1992, 1994–1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005, and was runner-up in 2004 and third in 1993. He was runner-up in the European Junior Championships in 1985 and finished fifth in 1987. He won the European Espoir Championships in 1988, and finished sixth in the European Championships the same year before winning them in 1991, 1995 and 1998. He was runner-up in 1997 and 2003, and third in 1994 and 1999. He won the World Espoir Championships in 1984 the World Championships in 1994, and was runner-up in 1995, 1997 and 1999, and third in 1998. At the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, he finished seventh, in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

thirteenth, and at the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

fifth. At the

, he won the freestyle tournament, winning the final 4–0 against

Brandon Slay Brandon Douglas Slay (born October 14, 1975) is an American former freestyle wrestler. He won an Olympic gold medal for the United States in wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Slay also helped found Dallas Dynamite wrestling club in Dallas, ...

. Leipold then tested positive for norandrosterone and noretiocholanolone, which are used to prove the presence of the steroid

nandrolone Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an endogenous androgen. It is also an anabolic steroid (AAS) which is medically used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate (brand name Deca-Durabolin) and nandrolone phenylpropionate ...

, and the gold medal was awarded to Slay. Prince Alexandre de Merode, the chairman of the IOC medical commission, was quoted as saying that Leipold's sample showed 20 nanograms of nandrolone per milliliter of urine, whereas the limit was 2 nanograms per milliliter. The German Wrestling Federation suspended Leipold for two years, but the suspension was lifted because the federation had taken more than the permitted seven days to announce their decision. Leipold had a receipt for 50 milliliters of urine for the B sample, but the laboratory report stated that 85 milliliters had been tested. He appealed the decision of the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

and his suspension from competition was reduced from two years to one year, and he was not required to pay the costs. Another freestyle wrestler, the Mongolian Oyunbileg Purevbaata, also failed a doping test at the same Olympics. In 2003, Leipold suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

during a competition in

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

and was paralysed on one side, and suffered a further two heart attacks, but recovered relatively quickly, so that he was able to continue wrestling.

Trainer

He studied and qualified in April 2009 for a trainer diploma at the Trainer Academy Cologne, and was German federal trainer for juniors in free style wrestling until 2015

Personal life

He married Juliana Marx, and lives with his wife and two sons in

Karlstein am Main Karlstein am Main (officially ''Karlstein a. Main'') is a municipality in the Aschaffenburg (district), Aschaffenburg district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Lower Franconia (''Unterfranken'') in Bavaria, Germany. It is the westernmost settlement ...

Bibliography

* ''Ich glaub' an mich - ein Ringerleben'' by Alexander Leipold and Klaus Weise,

References

External links

Official website in German
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leipold, Alexander Olympic wrestlers for West Germany Olympic wrestlers for Germany Wrestlers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2000 Summer Olympics German male sport wrestlers Doping cases in wrestling German sportspeople in doping cases People from Alzenau Sportspeople from Lower Franconia 1969 births Living people Competitors stripped of Summer Olympics medals 21st-century German sportsmen 20th-century German sportsmen