Belgium is the World Leader in Sports Doping

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The New York Times tells us today that a new report says Russia is the world leader in doping. “The report recommended that Russia be suspended from competition by track and field’s governing body, and one of its authors said the commission would encourage the International Olympic Committee to bar Russia’s athletic federation from next summer’s Rio Olympics.”

Fine by me. But take a look at the chart below. Belgium! They have less than a tenth of Russia’s population but nearly half as many doping violations. On a per capita basis, they’re the world leader by far. Why isn’t anyone talking about banning Belgians from international competition?

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It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to devote the time and resources to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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