• bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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    1 year ago

    IIRC, Russia, at least, has had to participate under a neutral flag in recent games due to their ongoing doping scandals anyway. Other than Belarus also competing under a neutral flag, what would substantially change?

      • bauhaus@lemmy.ml
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        1 year ago

        it means you compete as an independent, neutral entity and not under your country’s flag so your country gets zero recognition for any achievements, only the individuals.

        • Artinizal
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          1 year ago

          What does that matter?
          An athlete from Russia would clearly be from Russia still?

          • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            It reduces the prestige a nation can garner from success at the games. Think about all the soft power Russia accumulated at Sochi with their many wins thanks to their doping program.

  • cyd@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    If you go back to the original Olympic Games in ancient Greece, it would be considered totally normal for countries to be competing peaceably at the Games one week, and slaughtering each other the next week. Funny how the ancient Greeks were more sophisticated, in a sense, than we are in the modern world.