Boos, taunts and jeers: Russians under siege
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Weakened and bruised by sport’s biggest doping scandal in decades, Russia is under siege at the Olympics.
The Russian team, tarnished and reduced in number following allegations of state-backed cheating, is keeping tight-lipped after being jeered by hostile crowds at multiple venues.
But Russian fans are incensed and speaking out.
“They don’t love us here. They think we do all these bad things, that we are cunning and wicked,” said Tatyana Omelchenko, who traveled almost 15,000 kilometers from the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk in Siberia to watch fencing in Rio.
“There is definitely an anti-Russian atmosphere. We don’t think it, we feel it,” she added. “They’re scared of us because we are strong.”
Following a doping scandal which threatened to split the Olympic movement and has cost over 100 Russian athletes their place at the Games, Omelchenko and other Russians say their reception in Rio jars sharply with the Olympic Charter’s principles of inclusion and equality.
Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, who won her appeal against a doping ban only last Friday, has been booed every time she stepped on to the pool deck and broke down in tears after taking home the 100 meters breaststroke silver medal on Monday.
Other Russian competitors have been jeered at events including fencing and beach volleyball, especially when facing off against their Brazilian hosts, and some Russian visitors have been mocked by rival fans.
Teams including the United States and China have also felt the heat of what Brazilians call “zoeira,” or teasing, more often seen in the country’s notoriously raucous football stadiums than at the Olympic Games.
But Russians feel they are being specifically targeted in light of the cheating allegations.
Speaking at a tense news conference after her race, alongside gold medalist Lily King of the United States who publicly criticized her opponent’s doping record the previous day, Efimova said it was “hurtful” that athletes were involving themselves in politics.
“Usually at the Olympic Games all wars are stopping,” she told reporters in a trembling voice while struggling to keep her composure. “But now they try to find a way how they can beat Russia.”
Only 278 of 387 Russian athletes originally named for the Olympics have been permitted to compete and Russia was excluded from next month’s Paralympic Games on Sunday over what organizers called a “medals over morals mentality” overseen at a state level.
Most Russian athletes in Rio have played coy, dismissing suggestions of a negative atmosphere or refusing to comment, saying they need to focus on the competition at hand.
“We don’t react... We’re not guilty of anything,” said swimmer Viktoria Andreeva.
Officials have been more candid, however, acknowledging the mood but saying their athletes are clean and have nothing to prove.
“The team have all been tested, and so we deserve respect, our athletes have nothing to be ashamed of,” said Russian Swimming Federation spokeswoman Alexandra Nekrasova.
Sonny Bill out as Japan stuns All Blacks
In other action, New Zealand’s hopes of becoming the first Olympic rugby sevens champions suffered a major setback on Tuesday when it lost its opening match to Japan and Sonny Bill Williams for the tournament to an Achilles injury.
The 14-12 defeat was one of biggest upsets in sevens rugby history and its impact on the All Blacks’ campaign was compounded when Williams was forced off the pitch two minutes into the second half.
Williams, twice a World Cup winner in the 15-man game, sustained the injury charging into a tackle, but immediately indicated to the bench that he needed help.
The New Zealand Olympic Committee later confirmed he would miss the rest of the tournament.
“He suffered a partial Achilles rupture of the left Achilles tendon,” read a statement.
New Zealand could need yet another replacement after Joe Webber was taken off the pitch on a stretcher with a left shoulder injury soon after Williams. Another World Cup winner in the longer format, Liam Messam, is on standby.
Japan is ranked 10th out of the 12 teams taking part in Rio, but thoroughly deserved its first ever win over the All Blacks, which are seeded third.
In echoes of the victory of their team over South Africa at the Rugby World Cup last year, the Japanese showed no deference to the superpower of the international game.
“It’s unbelievable,” said Japan back Lomano Lemeki. “You’ve got to think that a minnow team can come here and beat a team that’s supposed to be a gold medal contender. It’s still pretty unbelievable and I am just shocked to be honest.”
US routs Venezuela in men’s hoops
Meanwhile, the United States men’s basketball team continued to steamroll towards a third straight Olympic gold medal as it thumped Venezuela 113-69 on Monday, adding a bit of sporting misery to the recession-ravaged country.
An upset victory over the US would have done nothing to improve conditions in Venezuela, where food and medicine are running scarce and annual inflation is in triple digits, but it certainly would have lifted the nation’s spirits.
The game marked the first time the US and Venezuela had ever met on the Olympic stage and the South American underdogs were at least able to battle their opponents to an 18-18 draw in the opening quarter.
But there was no panic from the US, who eventually showed its class, being led by Kevin Durant (16 points) and Carmelo Anthony (14). The victory extended the Americans’ Games’ winning streak to 19-0, a run of domination that dates back to the bronze medal game of the 2004 Athens Olympics.