Russia at Olympics with new name, more doping disputes

Tokyo: Russia is competing under another new name at the Tokyo Olympics, the latest fallout from the Games' longest-running doping saga.

You won't see the Russian flag above any podiums but the national colours are on the uniforms.

Doping cases old and new still cast a shadow over the team. Two swimmers from the Tokyo team have been suspended for cases dating back years and two rowers tested positive last month.

This time it's not Russia, or even the Olympic Athletes from Russia. It's the Russian Olympic Committee.

Officially the athletes will represent not their country, but the ROC, and Russia's name, flag and anthem are banned. Critics point out that it will be hard to spot the difference when Russian teams are wearing full national colours.

The new rules an evolution of the "OAR" restrictions used at the 2018 Winter Olympics are a confusing patchwork of dos and don'ts.

Russian red, white and blue on uniforms are fine the blocks of colour on the official tracksuits form one big flag but not the word "Russia," the flag itself or other national symbols. The artistic swimming team said it's been blocked from wearing costumes with a drawing of a bear.

Official Olympic paperwork and TV graphics will attribute Russian results to "ROC" but won't spell out the Russian Olympic Committee's name in full. Gold medalists will get music by Russian composer Tchaikovsky instead of the country's national

anthem.

Despite the name change, Russia will have a nearly full team at the Olympics after sending depleted squads to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.

This time, only track and field and weightlifting will impose limits on Russian squad size. They are the two sports with the largest numbers of doping cases from Russia and elsewhere in recent Olympics. Russian officials have selected a 10-person track team that includes three world champions.

Russia is sending more than 330 athletes to Tokyo, with the exact number still unclear because of uncertainty surrounding the rowing team. That's about 50 more than in 2016, when the doping-related restrictions hit harder across multiple sports, but still the second-lowest number since the Soviet Union broke up in 1991.

The team ranges from 16-year-old gymnast Viktoria Listunova to 56-year-old dressage rider Inessa

Merkulova.