Russian athletes skirted Olympic sanctions by wearing their country's flag on their sleeves during the Beijing opening ceremony
Russian athletes will compete at the Olympics under Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) banner.
That's due to Russia receiving a four-year ban from the games due to a litany of doping issues.
Athletes wore Russian flags in the opening ceremony despite an explicit ban on representing Russia.
Russia flouted the International Olympic Committee's sanctions against their nation during the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.
And they weren't very subtle about it.
Russian athletes — who are competing at this year's games as the Russian Olympic Committee, or ROC, due to IOC violations — marched in the opening ceremony parade wearing jackets that had Russia's flag prominently stitched onto the left sleeve.
Russia's four-year Olympic ban due to widespread doping violations and a state-sanctioned cover-up explicitly prohibited athletes that call the country home from competing under their flag or hearing their national anthem played at the games.
Despite Russia's supposed absence from the Winter Olympics, the country's leader, Vladimir Putin, was watching the opening ceremony from the stands at Beijing's National Stadium — better known as the Bird's Nest.
He even stood and applauded as the Russian Olympic Committee athletes marched across the floor.
Russia's sleeve flags appear to be a direct violation of the sanctions the IOC set in place ahead of the games.
Whether the country or its athletes face repercussions remains to be seen.
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