Bad news for Russia at the Winter Olympics next year: they’re banned. On the plus side, though, Russians can still compete in South Korea, as long as they have a clean record, and as long as they do so under a neutral flag. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) proposes referring to such competitors as “Olympic Athletes from Russia”, a fine but critical distinction and entirely in keeping with this wholly decent compromise. However, they’re going to need a flag. Our Christmas competition this year is to design a standard under which “Olympic Athletes from Russia” can appropriately and without discomfort compete.

Source: The Times December 09, 2017 00:00 UTC