The Olympics, a time for celebration, competition and glory. Just not for Russia this year. With Russia officially being barred from the 2018 winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea as of Tuesday by the International Olympics Committee for past doping scandals. Decisions are still being decided as to what Russian athletes will have to do for procedures.  

Throughout out the years countries have have had bans brought on themselves and lifted for participating in the Olympics. Yet, after multiple accounts of not only Russia having a huge history of doping athletes through USSR programs to more recent doping scandals some are saying this was bound to happen while others are calling the ruling discriminatory towards Russia. Just as President of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee, Lee Hee-beom puts it the decision put forth by the I.O.C is still yet to be determined as a good or bad thing.  

“We plan to meet with the chairman of the IOC and deliver our message, Hee-beom said. The message that it’s better to allow as many nations, as many athletes to compete.”

Russian athletes also very much agree with statements such as Hee-beom’s words about whether any of these ruling by the I.O.C the bar Russia from competing are just, and having Russian athletes still wanting to compete, compete as neutral athletes. One powerful statement that relates to this comes from Russian ski jumper, Irina Avvakumova.

“I don’t know how other athletes will react, but I was not training for many years to go and not participate for my own country,” Avvakumova said.

Though many points of what is justified fairness in the light that Russia has been banned from Olympic participation for the winter games. It is still clear from from whistleblowers of the Russia Olympics staff members that there is still and is confirmed that they have had a deep history of doping athletes. Just as Vitaly Stepanov, a former Russian employee of Russia’s anti doping organization, who was one of the first to bring to light Russia’s doping practices puts it in his affidavit for the I.O.C..

“The world knows that hundreds of Olympic dreams have been stolen by the doping system in the country where I was born,” Stepanov said.

With this quote he goes onto say that Russia still remains the same as it was in the past when it comes to the constant doping and a change needs to be seen.         

“The evidence is clear, that the doping system in Russia has not yet been truly reformed,” Stepanov said.