Jeffrey ("Jeff") Thomas Michels (born December 29, 1961) was an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

weightlifter Weightlifting or weight lifting generally refers to physical exercises and sports in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells, barbells or machines. People engage in weightlifting for a variety of different reasons. These can ...

for the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. His coach was Steve Gough.

Career

In 1983, after Michels won three gold medals from the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

, he realized he was roughly two years away from setting world weightlifting records. However, after this competition, Michels tested positive for excessive amounts of testosterone. Because of his use of a banned substance, Michels was stripped of all of his medals that he had earned, suspended by the International Weightlifting Federation, and forbidden by the International Olympic Committee to compete in the 1984 Los Angeles Games. Michels was one of 19 positive tests at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, where new sophisticated testing procedures were introduced for the first time, in earnest. Michels repudiated his positive test for synthetic testosterone, which before the introduction of the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry assay, could not be identified in athletes' samples. Curiously, Michels was cleared to compete in the Games after testing clean as part of a pre-screening program conducted by the USOC. After winning the heavyweight competition in Caracas just two days later, Michels was found positive, and was subsequently stripped of his gold medals and sent home from the competition. After a lengthy legal battle, wherein Michels contested the testing procedures and laboratory findings, his ban was upheld, ruling him out of the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

. Michels' legal case made headlines across the United States, ostensibly because he had several legitimate arguments. For one, the recently ratified

Amateur Sports Act of 1978 The Amateur Sports Act of 1978, signed by President Jimmy Carter, established the United States Olympic Committee (now United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee) and provides for national governing bodies for each Olympic sport. The Act provid ...

guaranteed athletes "swift and equitable" resolution of disputes, including the adjudication of doping cases. After testing positive in August 1983 Michels' case dragged on, and had yet to be resolved just weeks before the opening ceremonies in Los Angeles. Michels filed several injunctions in an attempt to qualify for the Games, but was ultimately unsuccessful. Michels now works for a firm that makes dictation equipment. His testing positive for a banned substance, temporary retirement, and a back injury that prevented him from lifting for 18 months left Michels' body incapable to compete at the highest world-class levels of weight lifting.

Family

Michels is married with one son.

Weightlifting achievements

*Olympic Games team member (1988 & 1992) *Multiple All-Time Junior American record holder in snatch,

clean and jerk The clean and jerk is a composite of two weightlifting movements, most often performed with a barbell: the clean and the jerk. During the ''clean'', the lifter moves the barbell from the floor to a racked position across the deltoids, without rest ...

, and total *Multiple Junior and Senior American record holder in snatch and total (1972-1992) *Senior National Champion (1982, 1983, 1985, 1988–1990)

References

External links

Jeff Michels - Hall of Fame at Weightlifting Exchange
1961 births Living people American male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for the United States Weightlifters at the 1988 Summer Olympics Weightlifters at the 1992 Summer Olympics Doping cases in weightlifting American sportspeople in doping cases Weightlifters at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States in weightlifting 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-weightlifting-bio-stub

Career

Family

Weightlifting achievements

See also

References

External links