MOSCOW (AP) — Russian doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova could race at next week's European championships as the first exemption from Russia's doping ban if an imminent IAAF ruling goes her way.
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 track and field, with officials helping to cover it up.
Stepanova, who had provided undercover footage of athletes and officials apparently admitting their use of banned substances, left Russia in 2014, saying she feared for her safety.