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Associated Press

by Jim Litke
There’s a toast Russians offer when something looks too good to be true. Roughly translated, it goes: “I’d like to drink honey with your lips”.
It’s easy to imagine glasses being clinked at the Kremlin two nights ago, when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced its decision to ban Russia in name only – while sparing many of its athletes – from the upcoming Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
A day later, President Vladimir Putin halfheartedly denounced the ban as “politically motivated”, gave cover to all those athletes who “wish to take part as individuals”, but left it at that.
Like the rest of his countrymen, he knows a sweet deal when he sees one.
For nearly a decade now, the Russians have been running a doping operation that would make El Chapo jealous.
The scheme swept up more than 1,000 athletes and stretched from lowly lab technicians in Sochi swapping out tainted urine samples for clean ones on up to the highest reaches of the national sports ministries.

Yet after confirming many of the sordid details, this is how the IOC punished the most audacious state-sponsored cheaters since the heyday of the former East Germany: “No flag for you! No anthem, either. Otherwise, make yourself right at home”.
Granted, the Russian Olympic Committee was suspended and ordered to pay US$15 million to help fund future anti-doping efforts.
And while it’s too early for an accurate headcount of how many Russian athletes will pass muster with the newly formed IOC doping panel, or how many might choose to sit out in protest, several of that nation’s dirtiest and most successful sports teams – cross-country skiing and biathlon come to mind – could be decimated. Russians were projected to contend for medals in a third or more of the 15 sports.
For purposes of comparison, there were 232 Russian athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. As of today, 25 of those who won or shared in 11 medals there have had them repossessed and were told not to bother showing up in Korea. Ditto for any other competitors with previous doping violations.

Those that do show up won’t get to march under the Russian flag or hear their anthem played during opening ceremonies or on any medal stands.
But they might by the time the closing ceremonies roll around (more on that in a moment). They won’t get to wear their official uniforms, either. But the ones they’ll be provided will be marked “OAR”, which stands for – you guessed it – “Olympic Athletes from Russia”.
It’s a better deal than Kuwaiti athletes got at the 2016 Rio Games, or any of the other athletes forced to compete as “neutrals” in the past. In any case, they won’t be hard to recognise.
“Their rivals will know that they are from Russia – it will simply be a slightly different interpretation,” Russian IOC member Yelena Isinbayeva, a former Olympian, told Rossiya 24 news channel.
Isinbayeva said the “OAR” uniform marking might seem like a small concession, but it showed the Russians are still capable of pushing back.
She called it a big reason she urged the nation’s athletes not to consider boycotting the Games. It wasn’t the only break the IOC cut the Russians, either.

Tucked into Tuesday’s announcement was a paragraph giving the IOC the option to lift the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee up until the moment the closing ceremony begins. More than a few roubles have been bet that the Russian flag (and maybe some new uniforms proudly shouting “Rossiya”) will be on the scene before the end of the Olympics.
To be fair, the IOC was being pragmatic. Russia is plenty capable of throwing its weight around the Olympic movement.
One example: with the National Hockey League electing not to participate, the Russians could let even more air out of the tournament by barring players from its domestic Kontinental Hockey League, considered the second-best circuit in the world, from playing.
The Russians will almost surely not leave Pyeongchang empty-handed.

Putin never went to a Super Bowl, but he’s got a championship ring courtesy of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who handed it over during a Kremlin visit in 2005 for what he thought was a brief inspection – and never saw it again.
Russia, likewise, won’t be at the Winter Olympics – not officially, anyway – but chances are good that at least a medal or two from the games will find its way into the same display case where Putin shows off “gifts” from his friends around the world.






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Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018

Russia’s Olympic ban in name only – Vladimir Putin knows a sweet deal when he sees one

IOC president Thomas Bach (left) and Russian President Vladimir Putin at 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi. Photo: Kyodo

File photo shows athletes of the Russian Olympic team during the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The International Olympic Committee announced Dec. 5, 2017, in Switzerland its decision to ban Russia from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, citing allegations of state-sponsored doping. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, speaks at a press conference in Lausanne on Dec. 5, 2017. The committee decided to ban Russia from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, citing a doping problem. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

File photo shows the Olympic flag (L) flying alongside the Russian flag at the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 7, 2014. The International Olympic Committee announced Dec. 5, 2017, in Switzerland its decision to ban Russia from competing at the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, citing allegations of state-sponsored doping. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

FILE - In this file photo taken Saturday, March 8, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin, foreground, watches downhill ski competition of the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Roza Khutor mountain district of Sochi, Russia, as Russia's sports minister Vitaly Mutko stands behind. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 IOC imposed a lifetime Olympic ban on Mutko. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Presidential Press Service, file)

IOC bans Russia from Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics for state-sponsored doping

Samuel Schmid, chair of the IOC disciplinary commission, and Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee, announcing Russia’s ban at a news conference. Photo: Reuters

epa06369155 Alexander Zubkov from Russia ( two-time Sochi Olympic bobsled champion and recently disqualified by IOC) reacts as he speaks to the Russian television, on the side line of the International Olympic Committee, Executive Board meeting, in Lausanne, Switzerland, Tuesday, December 5, 2017. EPA-EFE/JEAN-CHRISTOPH BOTT

A supporter stands with a Russian flag in front of the logo of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the headquarters on December 5, 2017 in Pully near Lausanne. The International Olympic Committee meets to decide whether to bar Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics for doping violations, in one of the weightiest decisions ever faced by the Olympic movement. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI

Figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova looks on while meeting with the media on December 5, 2017 in Moscow, after the International Olympic Committee announced the decision to ban Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics. Russia were banned from the 2018 Olympics on December 5, 2017 over state-sponsored doping but the International Olympic Committee said Russian competitors would be able to compete "under strict conditions". / AFP PHOTO / Maxim ZMEYEV

Russia Olympics ban Q&A: can they still compete at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games?

Russian figure skating coach Tatiana Tarasova looks on while meeting with the media in Moscow, after the International Olympic Committee announced the decision to ban Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics. Photo: AFP

FILE - In this July 27, 2016 file photo Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko uses a mobile phone with the St.Bazil's Cathedral at the background, as he walks for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, in Moscow, Russia. On Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017 IOC imposed a lifetime Olympic ban on Mutko. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin, file

A woman waves a Russian flag outside of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in front of the Olympic Rings prior to the opening of the first day of the executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at the IOC headquarters, in Pully near Lausanne, on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. Russian athletes will be allowed to compete at the upcoming Pyeongchang Olympics as neutrals despite orchestrated doping at the 2014 Sochi Games, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday. (Jean-Christophe Bott, Keystone via AP)

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 07, 2014 shows Russian model Irina Shayk leading Russia's flag bearer, bobsledder Alexander Zubkov, and the delegation during the Opening Ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. Russia were banned from the 2018 Olympics on December 5, 2017 over state-sponsored doping but the International Olympic Committee said Russian competitors would be able to compete "under strict conditions". / AFP PHOTO / ADRIAN DENNIS

International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach attends a press conference following an executive meeting on Russian doping, on December 5, 2017 in Lausanne. Russia were banned from the 2018 Olympics on December 5 over state-sponsored doping but the International Olympic Committee said Russian competitors would be able to compete "under strict conditions". / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI

epa06369456 (FILE) - The Doping Control Station in the Laura Biathlon Center during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Games in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, 21 February 2014 (reissued 05 December 2017). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 05 December 2017 announced that the Russian Olympic Committee has been banned from the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, following an investigation into allegations of state-sponsored doping at the Sochi 2014 Olympics. Some Russian athletes, who can prove they are not implicated in the doping scandal, will compete in Pyeongchang under a neutral flag. EPA-EFE/HENDRIK SCHMIDT *** Local Caption *** 52752746

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