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.