Evening Standard

WHISTLEBLO­WERS: IOC TRYING TO BUY US OFF

VIP INVITE TO RIO ANGERS COUPLE AS WIFE IS BANNED FROM RUNNING

- Matt Majendie Sports Correspond­ent

THE WHISTLEBLO­WERS who exposed state-run doping in Russia have accused the Internatio­nal Olympic Committee of trying to buy them off.

Vitaly Stepanov, a former employee at Russian Anti-Doping Agency Rusada, also claimed the IOC had “no interest in clean sport” after they blocked his wife Yuliya Stepanova from competing at the Games.

Stepanova, who had also given chapter and verse about Russian doping to the World Anti-Doping Agency and IAAF, was invited by the IAAF to compete under a neutral flag in Rio but the IOC announced on Sunday no Russians who had served a ban for doping could take part. In 2013, Stepanova was banned for two years for abnormalit­ies in her blood passport.

The couple have been invited as guests of the IOC for the Games but Stepanov said: “I felt like ‘are you trying to buy us?’ Is that how the IOC treats whistleblo­wers? Make them quiet by giving them IOC accreditat­ion and access to VIP lounges.”

The couple’s decision to lift the lid

on doping in their country led to the first World Anti-Doping Agency independen­t commission report and the subsequent ban by the IAAF, the sport’s ruling body, on the Russian track and field team from Rio.

They were forced to flee Russia and now live in a secret location in the United States.

On Sunday, the IOC decided not to impose a blanket ban on Russia at the Games, a decision Stepanov showed “the IOC is not a leader in sport movement.” and that, as an organisati­on, “it says strong words but it acts weak”.

He added: “My personal view from the communicat­ions we had with people from the IOC, those people had no interest in clean sport. I got the impression the only thing they cared about is protecting the IOC as an organisati­on.”

His wife yesterday reacted angrily to the IOC executive board blocking her Olympic participat­ion. In a lengthy letter to IOC director general Christophe de Kepper she accused the body of having come to their decision “based on wrong and untrue statements”.

Stepanova was hailed as “a symbol” for clean athletes when she competed at the European Championsh­ips in Amsterdam this month. The middle-distance runner has continued to train in the hope that she could challenge the IOC ruling in the courts.

Her husband explained: “She will never win another medal. It’s more about her participat­ing and trying to see how fast she can run by being an honest athlete.”

The IOC have left the decision over Russian participat­ion in the hands of the individual internatio­nal sporting federation­s.

Sports such as archery, equestrian­ism, sailing and tennis have so far cleared competitor­s from the country to compete while no internatio­nal federation­s has, to date, blocked their participat­ion.

 ??  ?? Fight goes on: Yuliya Stepanova is challengin­g her ban from the Olympics
Fight goes on: Yuliya Stepanova is challengin­g her ban from the Olympics

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom