They have no flag and no anthem but they’re defiantly still Russians

PYEONGCHANG — 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 sombre 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 colours, 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 An and biathlete Anton Shipulin were barred from Pyeongchang.