Track: Russian whistleblower receives mixed reaction in return to competition
BOSTON— Sometimes Yulia Stepanova’s opponents approach her and thank her for trying to clean up their sport. Others aren’t so gracious. “I know that a lot of athletes on the top level are against me, and sometimes you can see it in their eyes,” the Russian whistleblower said after returning to competition Saturday at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix. “I have no regrets. And if I had a chance to do it all over again, I would do the same thing.”
Completing a race against an international field for the first time since her testimony helped expose Russia’s vast doping machinery, Stepanova finished last in the 800 metres before a full house at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston.
Still, it was race winner Charlene Lipsey, from LSU and Hempstead, N.Y., who congratulated Stepanova after the race and thanked her for exposing the depths of performanceenhancing drug use in the Russian track and field machinery.
Asked what she thinks about those who are angry at her, Stepanova said: “I don’t just think so, I’m sure that’s what they’re doing.” Doping? “Yes,” she said. After receiving a suspension in 2013 because of abnormalities in her biological passport, Stepanova and her husband provided evidence to the World Anti-Doping Agency of systematic cheating in Russian sports.
Her testimony played a central role in the IAAF’s decision to suspend Russia’s track and field federation from global competition and exclude all but one member of its team from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August. Stepanova was cleared to re- turn for the European Championships in August, but she popped a tendon in her foot during the race and did not finish. She went a month without running, another month in rehab and another in a special boot.
Running in the first event after the meet’s live TV coverage began, Stepanova started on the inside lane and quickly settled in at the back of the pack. She neverthreatened to make a move, and finished more than 3 seconds behind Lipsey.
“Both me and my coach, we didn’t expect me to break records this indoor season,” Stepanova said. “My coach told me that right now I’m ready to run 2:05, and that’s what I ran today.”