Russian whistleblower pleads with IOC to review her Rio Olympics ban

Russian 800 metres runner and doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova has asked the International Olympic Committee to review its decision to ban her from competing at the Rio Games.

The IOC revealed on Sunday that its ethics board had declared Stepanova ineligible for Rio because all Russians who have served drugs bans in the past have been barred from next month’s Games.

It also said the 30-year-old, who was forced to flee Russia in 2014 for speaking out against the country’s state-run doping programme, could not compete as a “neutral athlete” as that was against Olympic rules.