Don't worry, I'm not going to post about Sting's song, but about what's happened to Russian athletes, who are all suffering now because of what's happened in the past.
After the huge doping scandal that led to banning a lot of athletes from competing for years, plus the Russian Federation from participating at major events, some of the athletes were allowed to compete but without representing the Russian Federation. It's like you're competing as an independent. I was happy to hear they can still compete because it's not fair to sanction everyone. I bet there were athletes that were clean but unfortunately they are paying for the others who were caught with their hand in a cookie jar.
However, it's not the same thing. When an athlete winning a medal is standing on the podium, after the ceremony, flags are raised and hymns are heard. Russian athletes don't get that anymore for a very good reason.
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[source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzhelika_Sidorova#/media/File:9081_sidorova_over_4m65_(15008972152).jpg)
[Anzhelika Sidorova](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anzhelika_Sidorova), a Russian pole vaulter won the gold at the World Athletics Championships in Doha 2019 on Sunday where she was competing as neutral because she was able to demonstrate that she was training in a doping-free environment.
She said a gold medal is a gold medal even without a flag, she was not very comfortable but it is what it is, at the end of the day the medal and the victory is what counts.
I believe this was and still is the biggest doping scandal in history and I hope it's going to remain the only one of this caliber. Am I being naive? Maybe. Who knows, time will tell.
As you know, the World Athletics Championships started at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium on Friday. I've written about the unfortunate decision to choose Doha as location for the event, because of the extreme heat that is affecting athletes health and performance as well. That is only one problem (a huge one). The other problem is .... can you guess what it is? Doping! What else?
>The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) was established by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in 2017 to combat doping in international athletics and took up its duties prior to the World Athletics Championships in London. For the 2019 Worlds in Doha, the AIU has pledged to implement an "unprecedented integrity programme." A statement on the IAAF's website states that for the first time samples taken from competing athletes will be taken abroad for testing, a measure the AIU says will "avoid any potential conflict of interest and associated risks."
"The year 2019 is also the first year of the implementation of the national federations obligations rule (article 15) of the IAAF anti-doping rules, wherein IAAF member federations designated as the highest risk have made sure that athletes selected for the World Championships have gone through the requisite number of out-of-competition tests prior arriving in the Qatari capital," the statement continues. [source](https://www.dw.com/en/iaaf-world-athletics-championships-the-battle-against-doping-continues/a-50599017)
I'm happy to read this as the massive doping must stop at some point and the sooner, the better. Looks like rules were not efficient of people were corruptible that led to this disaster.
>A total of 30 Russians have been approved to compete at the World Athletics Championships after the IAAF granted them "Authorized Neutral Status." They will be allowed to compete in Doha under strict conditions, including that they do not wear their country's colors or national symbols. Among them is two-time world champion high jumper Maria Lasitskene. [source](https://www.dw.com/en/iaaf-world-athletics-championships-the-battle-against-doping-continues/a-50599017)
Imagine yourself going to the World Championship as a Russian. All eyes are on you and you're already labeled as cheater although you've done nothing wrong, except that you are coming from a country that had no problem going to extremes in order to win.
Kenyan runners are known to be very good, you can always see them competing at the highest level and winning very often. However, not all their success is due to hard training. Two athletes who finished first and second in the 5,000 meters at the Kenyan trials, Michael Kibet and Daniel Simiyu, have been barred from competing in Doha for failing to meet the AIU's anti-doping rule requirements. Other two athletes (Jackline Wambui and Linda Kageha) have withdrawn from the Kenyan team after failing to undergo mandatory testosterone-level tests.
>Around 60 Kenyan athletes have been sanctioned for anti-doping rule violations in the past five years. Since 2016, with the establishment of the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK), the Kenyan authorities have stepped up anti-doping efforts in the country. [source](https://www.dw.com/en/iaaf-world-athletics-championships-the-battle-against-doping-continues/a-50599017)
I was wondering how this doping is done. Does the athlete have a choice? Can he/she decide if he/she wants to do doping or is it mandatory? Do they know they are playing with fire? I believe we will never know as they all say are innocent. Of course they are :)
If the heat and the doping scandal is not enough, let me give you another sad piece of news. During putting together this post I was watching BBC News and they were talking about the World Championship happening these days in Doha. It looks like the stadium was empty and this happened days in a row. There were a few spectators and that's all. The reporter said it's because in Doha people don't go to watch live sport events. Two years ago the World Championship was held in London where stadiums were full, all the tickets were sold.
Now comes the question: why Doha?