The Olympics should be about the individual, rather than the country. I appreciate that elite athletes wouldn't get government funding if they weren't competing under a flag, but really - the Olympics is about individual excellence, is it not?
Russia as a country should be banned because of state-sponsored doping, but Russian athletes should be allowed to compete if they can be proven clean. The idea of banning someone purely because of where they were born seems to go strongly against the Olympic ideal. Last time around there was a 'Refugee' team, which was a brilliant move. Why can't we have a 'Drug-Free Independents' team? Appreciate the team name could use some work...
i was born in russia, and i also am anti doping, but the problem is as soon as money is involved there are others that are doping and the winner in the end becomes the one with the best most invisible doping method.
doping drugs will have a race, that is about stealth as long as there is nationalism and racism still existing, becuase nations try to look good at olympics.
i also think that it would be better if the olympics would become about the athletes again instead about the country, and it wouldnt be politically exploited.
meaning,
lets make olympics neutral again, it should be about the individual not about the organisation pushing those individuals.
lets make olympics bio again
it should be banned to tell an athletes origin, training location and others,
nothing of all that should be allowed to be mentioned, no national flags in olympics anymore ban them all then the money disappears, that is driving the doping competition anyway