The international olympic committee, ioc, is the governing body of the olympics. the ioc ensures that the games are played fairly. the committee requires athletes to undergo tests to make sure that no one has an unfair advantage. one athlete from the u. s. was not allowed to compete in the 2006 winter olympics because he was using a drug. the athlete was taking the legal drug to prevent hair loss. at the 2010 winter olympics, a japanese woman was banned from participating in the luge. she was not allowed to compete because her equipment weighed 13.3 kg. the allowed weight was 13.1 kg. the weight difference was less than half a pound. neither of these athletes intentionally tried to gain an unfair advantage. the punishments for these accidental mistakes may seem harsh. nevertheless, the ioc enforced the rules that were set in place.