Lance Armstrong: The seven-time Tour de France winning champion, Lance Armstrong, is now a forgotten athlete. Born in Plano, Texas, former cyclist and testicular cancer survivor Armstrong was stripped of his titles in August 2012. The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) ruled that the athlete is to be banned from pursuing his cycling career for the rest of his life with the decision coming after Armstrong was accused of using performance-enhancing drugs. The allegations were backed up by evidence including laboratory tests, emails and the testimony of some of Armstrong’s team members. In 2013, in an exclusive interview with Oprah Winfrey, Armstrong confessed to using banned substances throughout his professional career.

Paul Gascoigne: Paul Gascoigne, also known as ‘Gazza’, was one of the best English midfielders ever. However, the Tottenham legend is now famous for his emotional and mental struggles, thanks to his addiction to alcohol. The athlete struggled to stay sober and even attempted to solve this problem and admitted himself into several rehabilitation centres. In 2004, he retired from football and the next year, his personal struggles ended his coaching career.

Oscar Pistorius: South African amputee sprint runner Oscar Pistorius saw his professional career coming to an end after he was accused of murdering his girlfriend and model Reeva Steenkamp. In 2004, Pistorius became a Paralympic champion after winning a gold medal during the 200-metre race at the Athens Paralympics but his biggest moment came when he was allowed to take part as a regular athlete in London 2012. The very next year, his girlfriend was shot and killed in their home in South Africa. The runner later admitted to unintentionally killing his girlfriend after he mistook her for an intruder. In 2014, Pistorius was sentenced to five years in jail for culpable homicide but was released in 2015 and placed under house arrest. However, a year later, the sprinter was sentenced to six years in prison for the murder.

OJ Simpson: Former NFL player and actor OJ Simpson fell from fame after he was charged with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. He retired from American football in 1979 and went on to star in several movies. In 1994, Simpson became a number one suspect in the murder of his ex-wife and her friend but in 1995, the former athlete was found not guilty. Then in 2008, Simpson was convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery and was sentenced to 33 years in jail. He now serves his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Centre in Nevada.

Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan: American figure skater Tonya Harding’s career came to an end after she admitted to having a role in the attack on her colleague skater Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 Olympics trials. Harding was the first woman to perform a triple axel and won her first national title in 1991. In 1994, Harding’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly was involved in the attack that left Kerrigan severely bruised. The incident prevented Kerrigan from taking part in the US Championship where Harding later won a gold medal. Harding was able to avoid jail time after pleading guilty to hindering Kerrigan’s attack during investigation, but was banned from competing in the US for the rest of her life and was stripped of her 1994 national title.

- The writer is an intern with Gulf News