Russia’s Partial Ban to Have a Minimal Effect on South Korea’s Rhythmic Gymnastics

The decision of the International Olympic Committee not to impose a blanket ban on Russia from the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio will most likely have a little impact on the medal race of the South Korean athletes.

On Sunday, the International Olympic Committee has decided to deny the calls from the athletes and anti-doping agencies to ban all the Russian athletes from the Olympic Games due to the alleged state-sponsored doping in the country. The IOC instead passed the decision to individual sports federations.

According to the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, the international sports governing bodies will have the full authority to disqualify athletes who will be proven guilty of the doping scheme.  

Some of the international sports federation has already started to test the eligibility of their athletes. Due to the rampant doping in the track and field event, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has already decided to ban the Russian team from the sport. Meanwhile, the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) issued a one-year suspension on Russia in June.

The South Korean athletes, however, is not expected to compete in those sports, and will only compete against Russia on those sports where the country is less likely to be banned, thus minimizing the impact of the IOC’s decision.

A blanket ban will most likely have a huge impact in rhythmic gymnastics, where Russia has a lot of competitive athletes. The absence of the two Russian rhythmic stars, three-time World All-around Champion Yana Kudryavtseva and two-time World All-around silver medalist Margarita Mamun, would have made Korea’s Son Yeon Jae the second highest-ranking gymnast in Rio behind Ukraine’s Ganna Rizatdinova, giving the Korean a chance to take home the country’s first rhythmic gymnastics Olympic medal.

Unfortunately for the South Koreans, but doping is almost non-existent in the sport, which means that the Russian athletes are less likely to be excluded in this event. Russia’s best rhythmic gymnast, Yana Kudryavtseva, will take this special opportunity to win her first Olympic title.

But the presence of the Russian gymnasts at the Olympic Games doesn’t mean that the medal podium is out of South Korea’s reach. Son Yeon Jae, South Korea’s top-performing gymnast is well known for displaying impressive performances in each of her appearances, allowing her to break her personal records at a consistent rate. We don’t know for sure how much she has improved by now, so be ready to be surprised at the Rio Olympic Games.

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio will take place in Rio de Janeiro from August 5 to 21, 2016.

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