Olympic Gold Lost to a Cold Pill

She won Olympic gold. A cold pill took it away. There are scandals

that begin in anger and ambition. And then there is the story of a quiet sixteen‑year‑old

gymnast from Romania, whose biggest mistake was trusting the adults around her. At the 2000 Sydney

Olympics, Andreea Răducan was the smallest figure on the floor… but on the night

of the all‑around final, she carried an entire nation’s hopes. Her routines were

precise, fearless, almost weightless. When the scores came in,

Romania erupted. She was the Olympic all‑around champion at just sixteen. What almost no one

saw was that, the night before, she’d been sick. Feverish. The team doctor