Russia's doping scandal

On December 9, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia from all global athletic events for the next four years. The sentencing comes after years of accusations and scandals in Russian athletics. The charges for the ban are tampering with doping reports. This comes after September 2019, when data sent to the World Anti-Doping Agency from Russian labs were found to have been tampered with and manipulated.

This ban is a major blow to Russian athletics due to the sporting agenda for these next four years. Between 2020 and 2024, they will be missing the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 2022 Men’s World Cup.

On the topic, Russian Vladmir Putin said “I think it is not just unfair, but not corresponding to common sense and law.”

“I think it is not just unfair, but not corresponding to common sense and law.” — Vladmir Putin

Russia has sent an appeal letter attacking the terms of the ban on them to the World Anti-Doping Agency. The case is set to be sent to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Should the court decide so, the ban against Russia can either be upheld or completely abolished.

This is the second time this decade that Russia has faced an athletic ban due to doping. In 2015, they were banned from all global sports up until 2018. While under the ban, Russian athletes who are proven clean can compete in these global events as independent, not as a representative of Russia. Russia’s name, anthem and flag cannot make an appearance in any world sporting event until 2022.

Russia is currently the world leader in Olympic medals earned due to doping. 43 Russian Olympic medals have been recalled from doping.