Opinion: International Olympic Committee stands by the double standard

By Brandon Clark

The untainted spirit of the Olympic games has been tarnished with the stain of a double standard. What is worse is that there still has been no solid answer as to why.

The Olympics has been loved the world over for its purity in competition. The nation’s top athletes come to represent their country and compete on even ground. To ensure this, the International Olympic Committee has a strict anti-doping policy, and athletes are regularly drug tested. 

Recently, the spotlight has illuminated 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, the Russian figure skater who helped her country claim gold in early February’s competition when she became the first woman in history to land a quadruple jump at the Olympics. Valieva continued to make history by skating her way around a failed doping test. 

On December 25, just 42 days before the Beijing opening ceremonies, Valieva tested positive for Trimetazidine, a banned heart medication that can increase endurance. Due to delayed testing, these results did not come in until after Valieva’s gold-winning performance.

The International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency immediately called for Valieva’s suspension. So far, the Court of Arbitration for Sport has allowed Valieva to continue competing. Their decision was due to Valieva’s age as a minor and her continued negative test results since the Beijing opening ceremonies. 

This ruling demonstrates a double standard for other athletes, like American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was prohibited from competing after failing a drug test. Richardson, 21, had to forfeit her place on the 2020 US Olympic team after testing positive for marijuana. 

Since the ruling allowing Valieva to continue competing was announced, Richardson has taken to Twitter demanding answers for the difference in the two cases. 

“The only difference I see is I’m a young black lady,” wrote Richardson on her Twitter account. 

Richardson admitted to using marijuana to help deal with the emotional toll of her biological mother’s recent death. 

“I would suggest there is not a great deal of similarity between the two cases,” said Mark Adams of the International Olympic Committee when pushed for answers at a press conference.

The details of their cases are different, but the overall picture poses the question of fairness. Two Olympic hopefuls test positive for a banned substance, but only one can continue competing.

Valieva tested for a substance that increases physical endurance, while Richardson’s use of marijuana does not. This further calls into question the decision to allow Valieva to continue competing while barring Richardson. 

“This is just a slap in the face to all those athletes doing it the right way,” said journalist Christine Brennan of USA Today. 

The International Olympic Committee stated that while Valieva can continue competing, her case is not yet closed, and her gold medal may still be taken away. 

This does nothing to change that Valieva was treated differently than other Olympians in her situation. She should be suspended from competing until her investigation is closed and a definitive verdict is reached. This is the only way to uphold the integrity and fairness of the games. 

If faith in the fairness of the Olympics is left wavering, then the spirit of the games will die like a flame in the wind.