Russian athletes are competing under the flag of the Russian Olympic Committee or ROC rather than their native country. This is because the 335 Russian athletes participating in this year’s Summer Games are considered ”neutrals”. After all, Russia is currently banned from the Olympics.
In 2019, the World Anti- Doping Agency banned Russia from all international sporting competitions, including the Olympics and FIFA World cup 2022 for four years over a doping scandal. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport cut in half the two years following a 2020 appeal and now ends in December 2022. Russia still can’t be represented as a country.
In the days since Russia marching proudly into the Olympic Stadium in central Tokyo under the banner R.O.C, the official acronym for the Russia Olympic Committee.
A Journalist from Russia admitted this week “it does not feel like we are banned”.
Russian athletes have completed dozens of sports, from archery to diving, fencing to gymnastics, tennis to taekwondo. Russia even collected its first gold on Sunday and after 24 hours it picked two more.
According to the guidelines issued, “All public displays of the organization’s participant name should use the acronym ‘R.O.C’, not the full name “Russia Olympic Committee”.
That rule was almost repeatedly broken by the event organizers, including the I.O.C., in public pronouncement. Russia’s name was read out in English, Japanese, and French as the team entered the opening ceremony.
However, on the first day of the Judo Competition, Irina Dolgova of Russia was announced as a member of the R.O.C. when she walked out of her first-round match in the 48-kilogram category. A few hours later her fellow citizens on the men’s volleyball, dressed in red uniforms, were introduced as the Russia Olympic Committee.
To this a journalist from Kenya expressed confusion about the acronym, asking why the Russian team that had just been announced was labeled R.O.C. on the scoreboard.
Why the team’s full name could be said out loud, but not displayed, when asked, Mark Adams, an I.O.C. Spokesman said the “medium” would dictate the messaging. ” We feel comfortable with what is being done”.
However, athletes and officials were unhappy about the ban on Russia’s flag, athletes like Alena Tiron, the captain of its rugby team, said, “If the flag is not allowed, we will be the flag” she told the state-run Ria Novosti agency. “We know which country we stand for”.
Though the country had faced several criticisms and penalties, Russia has shown phenomenal improvement in sports from shooting, boxing, fencing, and more.
