No flag, no anthem, defiantly still Russians

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — At first glance, Russia is shrugging off one of the stiffest penalties in Olympics history. Russian-born athletes are everywhere at these Winter Games, zipping down luge courses, jumping off ski ramps, pulling off triple axels. The nation has one of the Games’ largest delegations. It has won five medals. Its fans show up to arenas by the hundreds, draped in flags, waving pompoms and tricolor flags, chanting “Victory” at the top of their lungs.

But nearly one week into these Olympics, the visuals belie the sting.

Sanctioned for a long-running nationwide doping operation, the Russian group is in fact down 64 competitors from Sochi in 2014, cleaved of some of its best athletes. The beloved biathlon team was decimated. The top speedskater is at home. The medal pace is way behind the norm, and when Russians do reach the podium, they’re reminded of their bizarre place in these Games: their anthem, like their flag, is banned in Pyeongchang.

For Russians, these Olympics have become two things at once: a somber sporting moment but also a chance to project a defiant image to the world. At a time when Russia’s resurgence is redefining global politics, the nation is being humbled in the sports world, though not without a fight.

As part of the penalty set by the International Olympic Committee, Team Russia has even lost its name. Its athletes are officially stateless, dressed in bland colors, given the designation “Olympic Athletes from Russia.” But for some Russian media outlets, the Olympics-mandated term doesn’t get used. Team Russia is at these Olympics.

“They’re Russian athletes speaking the Russian language with the Russian soul,” said Igor Larionov, a former NHL player who broadcasts games for Russia’s Telesport. “It’s Team Russia.”

When the global Olympic body levied its sanctions in December, it kept open the door to Pyeongchang for Russians without a proven history of drug use. At the time, no one knew how many athletes would be deemed eligible for the Games; evidence showed that more than 1,000 Russian athletes, across at least 30 sports, had been involved in doping since 2011. Athletes who wanted to compete in South Korea had to seek exemptions from an anti-doping panel. In the end, the IOC approved 169 Olympic Athletes from Russia. All but one of the approved athletes showed up to Pyeongchang.

But the severity of the IOC’s penalties goes beyond delegation size. The country has been stripped of enough medals since Sochi to lose its first-place spot in those Games retroactively. Top athletes such as speedskater Viktor Ahn, biathlete Anton Shipulin and cross-country skier Sergey Ustiugov were barred from Pyeongchang.

From sport to sport, Russian athletes have spoken cautiously about their place at these Games. Most have said they are just here to compete and don’t worry about the ban on their flag or their anthem. But several have spoken to a greater sense of purpose. When Semen Elistratov won a bronze medal in a short-track speedskating race, he said he was holding back tears.

“I dedicate this medal to all guys that have been excluded from these Games in such a hard and unfair way,” he said. “This medal is for you.”

“Of course every athlete wants to have his flag and his anthem when he stands on the podium,” said Victoria Moiseeva, a curler from St. Petersburg. “But if it has to be like that, it is. And I think we’re here to show that we’re clean and we still can do great.”

In Moscow, the Olympic ban has been portrayed by top officials as a Western-led campaign against a resurgent Russia. Many Russians don’t believe that their country engaged in a government-sponsored doping program, an echo of their doubts that Russian intelligence agencies interfered in the U.S. elections. In both cases, many Russians say they don’t see enough evidence and chalk the allegations up to anti-Russian attitudes in the U.S.

“Their goal is to humiliate Russian athletes in front of the world,” said Igor Ilin, 24, from Moscow, who came to the coastal city of Gangneung to watch Russia’s hockey team. “This is revenge for our triumph in Sochi. Because we were like the Soviet Union – the undisputed winner. The big guys decided to stop this.”