You're reading: The Economist: Why are Russian athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics despite the country’s ban?

The Economist: Why are Russian athletes competing at the Tokyo Olympics despite the country’s ban?

By The Economist.

Published July 29, 2021 at 8:30 am

Russia's Ilya Leshukov plays the ball in their men's preliminary beach volleyball pool A match between Norway and Russia during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Shiokaze Park in Tokyo on July 28, 2021. (Photo by YURI CORTEZ / AFP)

Photo by AFP

When is an international Olympic team not an international Olympic team? When it’s the Russian Olympic Committee. Officially, Russia is banned from competing in Tokyo for previous doping offences. But viewers would be forgiven for thinking otherwise. A team of 335 athletes from Russia is competing under the name of the “ROC”, wearing white, blue and red uniforms, and winning plenty of medals.