IAAF OKs Russian whistleblower's bid to compete at Olympics
by Associated Press
LAUSANNEJul 02, 2016 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Associated Press
Jul 02, 2016 12:00 am
The IAAF has approved Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova's bid to compete as a neutral athlete in the European championships and the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Stepanova was the first athlete accepted by track and field's governing body on Friday to compete under "exceptional eligibility," granting her an exemption from the doping suspension of the entire Russian team. Stepanova was one of the world's top 800-meter runners before she and her husband Vitaly Stepanov, a drug-testing official, provided evidence to the World Anti-Doping Agency that doping was systematic in Russian athletics, with officials helping to cover it up.
The IAAF statement said its doping review board "decided its first case of an athlete seeking exceptional eligibility to compete in international competition as a neutral athlete," and lauded Stepanova "as someone having made a truly exceptional contribution to the protection and promotion of clean athletes, fair play, and the integrity and authenticity of the sport."
It added that Stepanova's participation as a neutral athlete "is still subject to acceptance by the organizer of the competition in question, in accordance with the rules of that competition."
European Athletics, which is organizing the continental championships in Amsterdam next week, issued a statement saying it would accept Stepanova's entry. It earlier said it would go along with any decision on Stepanova's eligibility by the IAAF.
Meanwhile, world rowing's ruling body says that the Russian men's quadruple sculls team has been disqualified from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics for a doping violation, and will be replaced at the games by New Zealand.
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