Still Going for Gold

For the first time since 1912, and the third time ever, there will be a Russian national team at the Summer Olympic Games. Shorn of socialist ideology and a win-at-all-costs attitude to their sports, its members have an uphill struggle to maintain the USSR’s supremacy of recent years. Executive Editor Mikhail Ivanov offers an inside look at their mood, and their chances. Photos by Andrei Golovanov.