Current Events > Russia Banned From Olympics and Global Sports for 4 Years Over Doping

Topic List
Page List: 1
Lebronwon
12/12/19 12:44:39 PM
#1:


https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/sports/russia-doping-ban.html

The worlds top antidoping authority on Monday banished Russia from international competition including next summers Olympic Games in Tokyo for four years, the latest and most severe punishment yet connected to a yearslong cheating scheme that has tarnished sports, rendered Russia a sports pariah and exacerbated tension between Moscow and the West. Under the ban, Russias flag, name and anthem would not be allowed at the Tokyo Games next summer or the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, though the competitive effects may be minimal: Russian athletes not implicated in doping are expected to be allowed to compete in the Olympics and other world championships, but only under a neutral flag. The World Anti-Doping Agency also barred Russian sports and government officials from the Games and prohibited the country from hosting international events. The decision, which Russia has 21 days to appeal, most likely will set up a series of confrontations in the coming months and years as Russia fights to have its athletes and teams compete at major events. The ban comes four years after the first details of a conspiracy that peaked at the 2014 Sochi Olympics were made public, and only months after more recent revelations of a failed Russian cover-up that involved the manipulation of test results. The punishment was hailed by some as a tough step, though many declared it insufficient as a deterrent; some critics and athletes have called instead for a blanket ban with no exceptions.

Even some officials from the global antidoping organization, known as WADA, said the punishment was too lax because it left open the possibility that hundreds of Russian athletes, including some who may have been complicit in the doping or the cover-up, will appear in Tokyo, just as they did at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. The view of many is that its largely superficial, said Beckie Scott, a Canadian Olympian who once had her bronze medal upgraded to gold when the two Russians who beat her were disqualified for doping. Its particularly disappointing in light of that fact that WADA had the authority and power to impose a much stronger and serious sanction and they chose not to.


---
Not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7
... Copied to Clipboard!
Topic List
Page List: 1