Whistleblower plans return to track

The Russian whistleblower who blew the lid on an international doping scandal wants to return to the track and compete in Rio.

A Russian whistleblower whose testimony sparked an international doping scandal is planning to return to track and field and compete at the Rio Olympics in August.

Yulia Stepanova and her husband, a former anti-doping official, left Russia in 2014 after providing undercover footage of apparent doping violations to a German TV channel.

She has now applied to track and field's world governing body, the IAAF, to compete in Rio "in a capacity other than as a Russian athlete," the IAAF said in a statement.

The IAAF said "the request will be considered."

The International Olympic Committee has previously allowed stateless or refugee athletes to compete under the Olympic flag, but it was not clear whether Stepanova was seeking to do so.

Stepanova competed at European and world championships for Russia, and served a doping ban between 2013 and 2015.


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world