The Olympics aim to unite the world as countries send prized athletes to compete against other athletes from countries across the globe. Fans adopt their favorites, and the whole world stops for two weeks while everyone intensely watches for the next gold medal.

However, this Summer Olympics in Rio has been slightly different. While most athletes walk into these extravagant arenas with cheers from the whole crowd, Russian athletes are walking into an arena full of booing.

But who could blame them?

Earlier this summer it was discovered that Russian athletes had been involved in a doping scandal led by the Russian government (Bass, 2016). Following the discovery of this incident, there was a large debate on whether or not Russia should be allowed to participate at all.

When the International Olympic Committee decided to let 70% of team compete, the crowd took matters into their own hands. When the Russians walked in, they entered into polite quiet claps paired with loud booing, doing justice to the Russians’ crimes.

Not only is the crowd criticizing Russian athletes, but swimmer Lilly King also called out rival Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, who was caught twice for performance-enhancing drugs.

When Efimova won her heat in the women’s 100-meter breaststroke, she confidently held up the #1. Lilly King was not impressed, and when King won the following heat, she mocked Efimova by repeating the #1 motion.

King stated to NBC, “You're shaking your finger No. 1, and you've been caught for drug cheating. I'm just not a fan. I'm going to go swim my heart out for USA and hopefully that turns out the best."

King proved that United States athletes can win without doping, and that allowing athletes who have tested positive for doping should not be allowed to compete in the world’s largest athletic competition.

sources:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/08/sport/rio-olympics-r...