World News for Students of English

23-12-2020 07:00

Last year, a four-year old ban was imposed on Russia by the World Anti-Doping Agency after it had discovered that Russian authorities had deliberately erased and manipulated doping data.

This way, athletes didn’t get punished for taking banned drugs. However, last week, the ban was reduced.

Russia has been banned from using its name, flag, and anthem at next year’s Olympics in Tokyo, at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, and at any world championship for the next two years.

However, Russian athletes will be able to compete either as individuals or in national teams in international competitions if they meet strict conditions. Russian teams won’t officially be called Russian teams. ’Russia’ will be printed on their uniforms provided that ’neutral athlete’ appears as well.

The decision angered athletes and anti-doping groups who said that Russia hadn’t really been banned. It has been simply rebranded as ’neutral athletes from Russia’.

Difficult words: deliberately (with a clear plan or intention), doping (the use of banned drugs in order to improve athletic performance), rebrand (to change the name or design of an organization or product).

You can watch the video news lower on this page.