Russia rebuked
State-driven doping is grounds for Olympic boot
The International Olympic Committee’s announcement Tuesday that it banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics was severe but appropriate punishment for what the Moscow government and some of its athletes did — organized doping in quest of medals.
The prospect of Russia, one of the most prominent nations in international winter sports and the host of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi, not being present at the 2018 games in Pyeongchang, South Korea — its flag, officials and most of its athletes absent — is a sad one.
But unless the IOC wanted to be seen as completely devaluing the medals awarded, and opening the door wide to widespread, government-sponsored use of performanceenhancing drugs in the Summer as well as the Winter Games, it had to act firmly. It also had to act in such a way that the lesson was widely grasped by authorities and athletes in other countries. It did so. Sanctioning Russia strongly took courage; it also put forward a clear message.
The IOC threaded the fairness needle with some finesse, seeking to take into account Russian athletes who did not dope. Although they will not be able to participate as part of an official Russian team, they will be able nonetheless to participate as individuals in the February affair, if their own government lets them. There is some thought that a stung Russian President Vladimir Putin will levy a total boycott of the games by his country’s athletes. Given that participation in the Olympics is an individual as well as a team and national matter, it would be a pity if Mr. Putin blocked innocent Russian athletes from this year’s games. A strong performance by non-doped Russian athletes could serve, in fact, as a vindication of Russia’s long-term record and potential in international sports.
The idea that Russian athletes have to dope to win is one very much worth combating. All in all, use of performance-enhancing drugs, whether it be in cycling, American football and baseball, or the Olympics, is a sad phenomenon of our times. It has seen its ups and downs. Back in the bad old days of the Cold War, East German athletes, for example, were wellknown specimens of the politics of theoretically healthy athletic competition. American Lance Armstrong in cycling was another more personal example.
The problem with doping, apart from the potential adverse effects on the health of the athletes, is that it risks turning honest competition into a matter of who has access to the most advanced chemistry. Is that really what we want sports to be?
The IOC’s action was strong. It will also provoke considerable screaming and yelling on the part of the Russians. But it really had to be, to counteract a dark future for world sports.