[Guardian] Yuliya Stepanova, the whistleblower pivotal to the discovery of deep-rooted state-sponsored doping in Russia, has hit out angrily at the International Olympic Committee in the wake of its decision to ban her from competing in Rio.It comes after the IOC provoked outrage from anti-doping organisations and athletes on Sunday when it decided against a blanket ban on Russian athletes despite an independent report that uncovered a state-run conspiracy across the majority of Olympic sports over five years.
Stepanova, an 800m runner, and her husband Vitaly, a former anti-doping official in Russia, have been widely praised for their bravery in speaking out. They originally approached the World Anti-Doping Agency in 2010 but were told it had no investigative powers. Eventually they took their story to investigative journalist Hajo Seppelt, whose explosive 2014 documentary set in motion the chain of events that led to Richard McLaren’s report into Russia’s state-sponsored doping programme.
Stepanova, who has fled Russia and is living in hiding in north America, had been cleared to enter the Olympics as a neutral athlete by the International Association of Athletics Federations but on Sunday the IOC ruled that any Russian athlete with a doping past, including Stepanova, would not be allowed to compete in Rio. It instead invited Stepanova and her husband to attend the Games as spectators, an offer they declined.
| Hiding in North America might be better than attending the games. And stay away from the sushi... |