Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps and Sumo wrestler Wakakiri are by no means the first athletes to be reprimanded for smoking marijuana.

Argentine football legend Diego Maradona had run-ins with drugs since the start of his football career, and had to be sent to hospital following an excess of drugs in his retirement.

Another Argentine football player Claudio Caniggia was banned from competition for 17 months also because of drugs. After that he faded from the spotlight.

In the NBA, Shawn Kemp was arrested following an investigation into drug possession in 2005. American college basketball player Len Bias suffered a fatal cardiac arrhythmia that resulted from a cocaine overdose less than 48 hours after being selected by the Boston Celtics in 1986 NBA draft.