about that figure skating doping thing

[cab67]

I don't actually pay much attention to the Olympics (winter or summer) - I lost interest when professional athletes were allowed to compete, and some of the shit going down belongs in the UN, not a stadium. I've also been especially leery of any event in which victory or defeat depends on the subjective assessment of judges,

But I do wonder about something:

If Russia's been banned from the Olympics because of repeated doping, why are Russian athletes still competing under the "Russian Olympic Committee" banner? I get that most of these athletes have done nothing wrong and shouldn't be punished for wrongs committed by others, and I know that many of these are among the most talented people in their sports and should, in theory, get a crack at Olympic glory (assuming such a thing even exists anymore). But if a country is banned, shouldn't it be treated as if it's, you know, banned?

I have no strong opinion about the figure skater at the center of this particular flap. She skated beautifully, and the doping took place well before she arrived at the Olympics, so I'd put heavier sanctions on the adults around her than on her. I don't know whether she should be ejected from the Olympics, and I don't actually care very much.

But I don't get that countries can be represented after they've been banned.

Just my minimally-informed thought.

[Claustrum]

1. It's a tough decision.

What they did was banning the country represented as Russian but they allow individual Russian athletes to form a group to attend the Olympics. So the ban is in name only because the athletes are the same, the coaches are the same, the funding is probably the same from Russian. It's just that, they aren't going formally as representing Russia.

Unless you are willing to ban every Russian athletes from participating, the ban is in name only. But banning all of them would risk banning athletes that didn't participate in doping and we all know athletes have a short time to perform at their best. So banning them for 4 years or 8 years is a huge punishment.

[cab67]

4. A friend suggested an interesting solution.

Allow these athletes to participate, but not to compete.

They’d take part like the other athletes. They wouldn’t be eligible for a medal, but their accomplishments would be recorded along with those who were.

Not sure if that’s workable.

[Claustrum]

7. Not sure if it's workable but it would create a lot of chaos and confusion.

For some events, you would then have 11 or 12 finalist instead of the normal 10. And it's harder to keep track of their ranking because 1 or 2 don't count. It would not work in some spots like Judo and fencing and the like that you get a semi-final and final match. I guess you can push the #3 and #4 up to #2 and #3. But once again, that would create a lot of confusion.

[EndlessWire]

8. "...The doping is the same..."

There, fixed it for ya!

[AngryOldDem]

2. They were banned for four years but it's been reduced to two.

If they are still doping even after the allowance to compete under the Olympic flag, the message has not been received. I’m all for an outright ban now because of the sheer arrogance alone.

The kid presents a difficult situation — if it is conclusively proven she had banned substances in her system, was she coerced or threatened into taking them? Unknowingly took them? Who would think it’s OK to do this to a minor? It’s criminal. I’d err on the side of finding a way for her to compete after some time away. As for the rest…. .

[Hekate]

3. Those are very good questions indeed

[onecaliberal]

5. We were talking about this very thing a few nights ago at my house.

[bullwinkle428]

6. The British journalists that broke the doping story are now receiving death threats.

The journalists who broke the story of Russian skater Kamila Valieva’s positive drugs test on Wednesday say they have faced death threats, abuse, and warnings they should check their tea.

A separate British newspaper journalist who asked Valieva whether she was a doper on Friday has also faced intense criticism from Russian members of parliament and online.

Such was the anger in Russia when Duncan Mackay and Michael Pavitt of the Inside the Games website initially broke the story that both men were deluged with messages dismissing their reporting as lies – until the Independent Testing Agency confirmed it was true on Friday.

Pavitt confirmed to the Guardian that Mackay had faced death threats, and that he had also been subjected to “significant” abuse. Other members of the team said they were confronted by Russian journalists in the main media centre in Beijing.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/feb/11/kamila-valieva-british-journalists-receive-death-threats-from-russia

[milestogo]

9. She probably did it for Putin.

And she's so good, she didn't need to. Now her name will always be associated with banned substances.

[Trueblue1968]

10. Ban ALL the Cheating Russians. They cheat, so should not compete.