What is doping, why Russia was banned from the 2021 Olympics

O doping, according to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein portal, is nothing more than the use of substances that can change the body's response to a stimulus.

In most cases where the doping appears in the news, is related to athletes who want to enhance performance, strength, mass gain and agility, increase tolerance to fatigue or even increase weight loss.

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In 2021, those who are watching the Olympic Games with attentive eyes, certainly noticed some athletes wearing uniforms with the acronym ROC, an acronym in English that means “Russian Olympic Committee”.

But do you know what doping has to do with that acronym and why Russia was banned from the Games and the 2022 Cup? It's all interconnected and we explain this bullshit right below. Keep reading!

Scandal

The buzz about the first cases of mass doping in Russia began to emerge in 2015, the same time that the first evidence was pointed out.

The conclusion came four years later, in 2019, when the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) concluded that sponsored by the government, Russians modified laboratory data without authorization, planted false tests and deleted conclusive files of possible cases of doping.

Thereafter, the agency committee banned Russia from international sports competitions for four years, on the understanding that the Russian anti-doping agency did not cooperate with the investigations. In 2020, after an appeal, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (TAS) reduced the sentence to two years – until December 16, 2022.

Until then, the country cannot be represented in any international competition, Russian athletes cannot compete with the name, flag and not even the national anthem of Russia can be played if the athletes emerge victorious from the disputes.

According to the International Olympic Committee, however, they can wear uniforms with the colors of their country, red, white and blue. The punishment also determines that the country is prohibited from hosting international sports events during the period and its sports leaders cannot attend such events.

While it has acknowledged flaws in its implementation of anti-doping policies in the past, Russia denies having conducted a pat doping program.rockined by the government.

ROC

After a doping scandal came to light, Russia was banned from competitions and that was the alternative for Russian athletes not to lose participation in the Tokyo Olympics.

The Russian Olympic Committee is represented by 335 athletes. All public displays of the organization member's name must feature the abbreviation 'ROC', not the full name "Russian Olympic Committee".

Olympics 2021: Russian athletes at the Olympics managed to prove that they were not involved in the doping scandal (Phil Noble/Reuters)

Furthermore, they are considered “neutral” and must follow rules, making it absolutely clear that they do not represent Russia in the competition.

These competitors were only able to participate in the Games because they were able to prove that they were not involved in doping cases.

At the time of the punishment, the World Anti-Doping Agency stated that the decision was rigid with the Russian authorities. However, he defended the rights of the country's athletes who were out of one of the worst stains in the history of Russian sport.

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