Sports

photo courtesy of the International Olympic Committee

Another Russia Investigation, At the Olympics This Time 

Jasper Schuetz

SPORTScheatinginprofessionalathletics384/400

Cheating, it's a word that has become almost synonymous with professional sports and even high school athletics. Doping, or taking illegal drugs to enhance performance, occurs in essentially every type of sport, from biking to weightlifting to running.


At this year's Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Russian athletes were banned from competing under the Russian flag. These athletes were accused of violating the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) anti-doping rules in previous competitions. Due to these violations, Russia is not allowed to have an official Olympic team. Greg Martin, from the IOC, released an official statement regarding the organization’s decision on the Russia situation:

“I. Not to lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) for the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018.
II. Subject to the continued compliance with the IOC EB decision of 5 December 2017, the suspension of the ROC is considered to be lifted once the Doping Free Sports Unit (DFSU) has confirmed that there are no additional Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) by members of the OAR delegation.”

Therefore, no delegation of the ROC is allowed to compete at the PyeongChang Olympic Games. The IOC would have considered lifting the suspension because of the Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR) delegation. However, two Olympic Athletes from Russia failed doping tests in PyeongChang. This was hugely disappointing and, in addition to other considerations, prevented the IOC from even considering lifting the suspension for the Closing Ceremony.
This statement was an attempt to reinforce the IOC’s strong anti-doping position. While the first half of the statement achieved this, the second half contradicted this position by saying, “the suspension of the ROC is considered to be lifted once the Doping Free Sports Unit (DFSU) has confirmed that there are no additional Anti-Doping Rule Violations (ADRVs) by members of the OAR delegation.” If the IOC really wants to seem strong when it comes to anti-doping they should not have included this section. The IOC, however, did create a small loophole that the former Russian team took advantage of, some athletes would be allowed to compete under a neutral flag, in a neutral uniform if they could prove that they did not violate any anti-doping laws.