With the 2018 Olympics approaching, the risks of society's destructive attitude toward the topic of doping are growing, experts believe / Pavel Golovkin / AP

On the eve of the Olympic Assembly, whose members will discuss the decision of the International Olympic Committee Executive Committee on Tuesday to partially admit Russian Olympians to the Winter Games in Pyeongchang under a neutral flag, the Petersburg Politics Foundation analyzed the toxicity of the reputations of the most popular sports in terms of doping. The rating was based on the number of sports mentioned in the media in 2014–2017 in the context of doping and expert assessment. As a result, the most toxic were weightlifting, track and field, luge and rowing, and the cleanest were chess, bandy and table tennis (see table).

The topic of doping has turned from an industry issue into a socially important one, but there is no adequate assessment of the problem, and official comments are limited to accusations of bias or double standards, the authors explain the relevance of their study. Meanwhile, in connection with the approaching 2018 Olympics, the risks of a destructive attitude of society towards the topic of doping are growing, experts believe. Among such risks, they name the popularization of the stereotype about the total use of doping in all types of professional sports, the growth of a negative attitude towards big-time sports as destructive to health, and the spread of fear of taking any medications in professional sports itself. The negative impact of the doping topic on Russian sports has reached its peak, its politicization has sharply increased reputational risks, a watershed has emerged between officials and athletes, states the head of Petersburg Politics Mikhail Vinogradov.

"The experts gave an objective assessment, we encounter this in our work, and all three negative scenarios are absolutely real," says swimmer Yulia Efimova's sports agent, co-founder of the Efimova Team swimming team Andrey Mitkov: "There is a fear of using drugs, we have a four-level system of checking them - we have abandoned centralized purchases and buy everything ourselves. There is a global provocation in this: make recommendations, release drugs with the label "approved by WADA or the IOC" - and we will buy them from you." Many parents now say that they bring their children for health, but not for professional sports, and this is the influence of the last two or three years, the expert emphasizes. "It is surprising that former high-level athletes themselves very quickly become officials and act and speak in line with the government's guidelines," adds Mitkov. According to him, current athletes try not to speak out on this topic in order to avoid scandals, although it is the officials who are to blame for what happened.

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"In fencing, it is impossible to eat something to improve your results, first of all, the result depends on the head and how to use your abilities. But in society, there is an opinion that professional sports are impossible without doping," says Dmitry Rigin, a member of the Russian national fencing team. The media are simply trying to make money on publications about doping, in fact, its use is not so total, he assures. But the fear of taking pills is really growing, many refuse even the necessary drugs and do not take anything, Rigin agrees. The media loves to throw mud at athletes, they need some negativity, says the president of the Russian Bobsleigh Federation, Olympic medalist Alexander Zubkov: "Sport and doping are different things, children should be sent to sports - this is the health of the nation. The people understand and see what is happening - many athletes are accused without evidence, for the first time in history, such harsh sentences are being passed on Russian athletes. Politics has deeply penetrated sports."

"If you ask people on the street about sports, the first thing they will say is doping. They put an equal sign between them, and it's terrible," says world champion in athletics, sports commentator Yolanda Chen. "Moms, dads, grandmothers do not send their children to sports, we are losing traditions and there is a complete collapse of the industry, an unwillingness to be associated with this." Naturally, real doping is unacceptable, but no one explains to citizens what is being discussed: the list of prohibited drugs mainly includes medical drugs, she emphasizes: "At the training camp, the coach begged me to take no-shpa when my stomach hurt. I was waiting for doping control and refused. Naturally, the situation gives rise to fears and phobias about eating and drinking anything - this can lead to insanity and absurdity, soon tea or meat will be banned." There is also a divide between officials and athletes, adds Chen: “Not a single person in the State Duma has spoken out adequately, they have ‘eternity ahead of them’ (quote from a television appearance by Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Pyotr Tolstoy – Vedomosti). Athletes live here and now, they have one normal human life, they want to compete today and at this Olympics they will do much more for the country than officials.”

Doping scandal has worsened Russians' perception of sports