IOC ruling disappoints Russian whistleblowers
Couple say others will be deterred from speaking out
“It’s a total cop-out to prevent her from competing at the Games.”
Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, on Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova
Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov were frustrated yet not surprised when the International Olympic Committee decided not to allow Yuliya to compete in the Rio de Janeiro Games.
They had exposed widespread doping in Russian athletics and given up their life in Russia, and they had hoped Yuliya Stepanova would be able to continue her career as a runner. The evidence they provided led to an investigation that prompted the International Association of Athletics Federations to ban the country’s track and field team from Rio. They received support from the IAAF, the World Anti-Doping Agency and athletes who hailed their efforts for clean sport.
Yet the signals they had gotten from the IOC over the last 20 months led them to expect what came — a decision Sunday to allow Russians to compete under strict criteria but not to allow Stepanova to run in Rio.
“We are not looking at this as just a decision about Yuliya but more of how sports organizations are looking at whistleblowers. Not just the current ones but the ones in the future,” said Vitaly Stepanov, Yuliya’s husband and a former Russian Anti-Doping Agency employee who also provided evidence of doping.
“In my view, that’s an unfair decision to whistleblowers. Because what IOC lacked to understand, if Yuliya never started to do whistleblowing, most likely none of this would be happening, and after her ban was over, she would have been part of the Russian Olympic team right now, most likely competing the Olympics,” he said. “What they are saying is, ‘If you are corrupt, if you want to change, don’t change. Stay corrupt. Keep lying.’
“I don’t think that’s the message that ethical organizations want to send.”
The Stepanovs made one final appeal to the IOC on Monday, sending a letter in the hopes of correcting things they think the ethics commission got wrong.
It’s likely a Hail Mary given the IOC’s decision Sunday. Its executive board opted to delegate decisions about the eligibility of Russian athletes to their international federations, provided athletes met certain criteria and their entry by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) was approved by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) expert.
The IOC barred Stepanova from competing in Rio as a neutral athlete — a designation the IAAF had given her in creating an exception to its own ban of the country — citing her history of serving a sanction for doping and admitting to her involvement in the Russian system coupled with the timing of her decision to come forward.
Several have argued the IOC’s decision will have a deterrent effect on athletes who might have become whistleblowers.
“It’s a total cop-out to prevent her from competing at the Games,” said Travis Tygart, CEO of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. “And it shows a lack of touch with the reality of corrupt systems and the importance of those who are willing to stand up against them.”
TELLING THEIR SIDE
The Stepanovs on Monday disputed the characterizations of their actions and misunderstandings by the IOC and its ethics committee.
First was an assertion from the IOC that Stepanova “declined to compete as a member of the ROC team.”
They provided a transcript and audio of Stepanova’s call with the ethics committee in which she said she would be “happy to be in the Russian national team.”
Stepanova explained that this seemed unlikely given comments by Russian officials, including ROC President Alexander Zhukov saying she could not compete under the Russian flag.
Asked to explain the discrepancy between what Stepanova said and what the IOC asserted, a spokesman said that because Stepanova’s request was to be entered to the Games as a neutral athlete it was the only thing the ethics commission considered even though her competing for Russia was discussed.
“The goal was to fight the corrupt sports officials in Russia, not the country,” Stepanov said. “The hope was to help the country to change and to follow the rules and to respect other countries and to win competitions fairly.”
The Stepanovs were also concerned with the IOC’s focus on her doping history and questioning of the timing of her becoming a whistleblower.
Stepanova received a two-year suspension for irregularities in her athlete biological passport in 2013, and she served it. She collected evidence after receiving her ban, and she provided that to WADA as well as German broadcaster ARD.
GREATER PENALTY
The IOC noted that its decision included a ban for any Russian athlete who had ever been sanctioned for doping, including Stepanova and several others.
But that is likely to be challenged.
In 2011, CAS struck down an addition to the Olympic charter that sought to keep athletes banned for serious doping offenses from competing in the subsequent Games. CAS determined it would be extending punishment for already-sanctioned athletes.
The president of the Russian Rowing Federation told Russian news agency R-Sport that two rowers who had previously served doping bans planned to appeal to CAS. Should those athletes or any others succeed in their appeals, they could be put forward by the ROC and potentially compete in the Games.
Even if Stepanova could make such an appeal, which Stepanov says they cannot afford, her options would be foreclosed as the ROC would not enter her and the IOC would not take her as a neutral athlete.
The IOC’s refusal to accept Stepanova as a neutral athlete is baffling to some, especially in light of its promotion of a 10-person refugee team that will compete under the Olympic flag in Rio.
“The notion that if you could create space for refugees you couldn’t create space for the person who has done more to change or defeat the prevalent culture of doping in Russia than any person walking on earth just sends a horrible message to any athlete who might have information and consider coming forward,” said Max Cobb, CEO of US Biathlon.
FIGHTING FOR CLEAN SPORT
Despite the ways in which coming forward as whistleblowers has altered their lives, the Stepanovs remain committed to the big-picture view. It was never about hurting Russia or ensuring Stepanova would have a path to Rio.
It was about changing a corrupt system, fighting for clean sport and showing what athletes could do without doping.
Despite not being allowed to compete in Rio, Stepanova is eligible to compete in IAAF events. She ran in the European Championships this month; she was injured in a race but is recovering.
The IOC’s decision was a setback but not anything that would make the Stepanovs regret the path they’ve chosen.
“I think in general it’s OK to lose a good fight. There is nothing wrong with that,” Stepanov said. “If you fight for the right reasons and you lose it and you say you’ve done your small part, well, there is nothing to be ashamed of.”