28 July 2021updated 09 Sep 2021 8:20am

“We will ROC you”: the uneasy compromise of Russian athletes at the Tokyo Olympics

Russia is technically banned from international sporting competitions after the state-sponsored doping scandal – but you wouldn’t know it.

By Ido Vock

Silver medallists from Russia pose on the podium after the final of the men's 4x200m freestyle relay swimming event during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Photo By ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images)

“We will ROC you. From Russia with love.” The video posted by the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova to cheer on “Russian Olympic Committee” (ROC) athletes sent to the Tokyo Olympic Games offers little space for ambiguity: the Russian government is claiming the team currently placing fourth in the medals table as Russia’s.

Officially, they aren’t. There are 330 Russian athletes competing in Tokyo under the ROC banner because the Russian team was banned in 2019 from participating in all international sport, after Russia was found to have participated in state-sponsored doping. The international Court of Arbitration for Sport at the time found that the Russian Anti-Doping Agency had failed to provide legitimate drug test data upon request. The ban, initially for four years, was last year on appeal reduced to two years. It will also apply to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.