The Olympic Games are great – the idea of the world coming together in peace, the stories of athletes overcoming obstacles. But the Games in Beijing have dimmed my enthusiasm and brought out my cynicism as fairness has been compromised.
Just holding the Olympics in China, while that government is persecuting the Uyghur people in the western region of the nation, is a stain on the Olympic ideals.
And the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) continued toleration of drug doping by Russian athletes is another black mark. Clearly Russia does not care that their athletes must compete under the name “Russian Olympic Committee”. When Russia’s doping activities began decades ago, the country was sanctioned. Then, to not penalize all Russian athletes, clean athletes were allowed to compete under a generic Olympic name. But now that the name “Russian” is being used, any sanction is a joke.
This Games’ doping example has been especially dramatic. Russian figure skater Kamila Valiyeva had a positive test for a banned heart medicine in December. COVID among testing staff in Sweden caused the results to be delivered late. The Court of Arbitration of Sport ruled Valiyeva could continue competing while the incident is investigated. They felt as a minor (15 years old), Valiyeva needed to be protected and also thought the lateness of the test results was somehow unfair to her.
The ruling brought strong negative reactions from throughout the Olympic and general sports communities around the world. The criticism continued after Valiyeva performed almost flawlessly in the Ladies’ Short Program.
Then amazingly in the Free Program, she stumbled or fell on her first five jumps. According to NBC commentator and Olympian Johnny Weir, this was more mistakes than anyone has never see Valiyeva do in a free program. (And she had performed this same program perfectly in the team skating event just before the controversy broke.) My spouse commented that Russia would probably use Valiyeva’s performance to label her the victim. That was proven correct when NBC Olympics anchor Mike Turico read headlines from Russian newspapers. One said the IOC should be ashamed and several others called Valiyeva a hero.
I have to wonder if Valiyeva might have been told to take a dive, so to speak. She looked very nervous as she began her routine. Of course, that could have been from the stress of the scrutiny since the positive test results were announced.
But other things seemed too much of a coincidence. As Valiyeva went backstage a woman in an ROC fleece jacket (not a coach) held Valiyeva’s shoulders and seemed to be scolding or lecturing her.
Weir apparently speaks some Russian and translated comments from Valiyeva’s teammates. Aleksandra Trusova, who won the silver medal for ROC, said – through tears that caused her mascara to run – that she would not go out on the ice for the flower ceremony. But minutes later, after being spoken to by Russian handlers (oops! Sorry, I meant coaches), she appeared, smiling with make-up repaired.
ROC gold medalist Anna Shcherbakova walked around with no joy in her eyes for minutes after Valiyeva’s scores were given. Later, when NBC’s Andrea Joyce asked Shcherbakova if she had mixed emotions, she replied in broken English that she was only happy.Maybe all these were natural and/or emotional occurrences. But Valiyeva (who has had several recent negative drug tests) is known for impeccable performances, certainly not any with 2 falls and 3 stumbles. By making Valiyeva a more sympathetic figure, could Russia hope to deflect attention from the country’s history of doping – maybe even stop the investigation into Valiyeva’s positive test result?
Given that many of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s statements concerning the current Ukraine situation twist reality (or are totally false) and that the Russian government controls all international level athletes in their country, I am sure any of my imaginings (and probably many other scenarios) could be true. I doubt we will ever learn the truth behind the positive test or last night’s drama.
To avoid ruining the experiences of non-Russian athletes and protect the integrity of the Olympics, Russia needs to be banned from the Games whenever their athletes test positive for banned substances. Russia needs to play with the same rules as all other countries.