Yuliya Stepanova

This article is about the Russian runner and whistleblower. For the Soviet skier sometimes known as Yuliya Stepanova, see Yuliya Shamshurina.
Yuliya Stepanova

Rusanova at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul
Personal information
Born 3 July 1986 (1986-07-03) (age 30)
Russia
Sport
Sport Athletics
Event(s) 800–1500 m
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s) 800 m – 1:56.99 (2011)
1000 m – 2:39.81 (2009)
1500 m – 4:06.08 (2009)[1]

Yuliya Igorevna Stepanova, née Rusanova (Russian: Юлия Игоревна Степанова (Русанова); born 3 July 1986) is a Russian runner who specializes in the 800 metres.

Career

On 26 February 2013 the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) announced that she had been banned for two years following abnormalities in her biological passport. All her results since 3 March 2011 were forfeited.[2]

In 2014, she and her husband Vitaliy Stepanov, a former employee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, appeared in a documentary by Hajo Seppelt for the German TV network Das Erste, accusing the Russian sports system of large-scale doping fraud. Both said that Russian athletics officials supplied banned substances in exchange for 5% of an athlete's earnings and falsified tests together with doping control officers.[3][4] A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin called Stepanova a "Judas".[5]

Although the IAAF decided not to lift the ban on Russian athletes before the 2016 Summer Olympics, "three or four" Russian athletes may be permitted to appear as independent competitors.[6] Its taskforce recommended that Stepanova be allowed to compete due to her "truly exceptional contribution to the fight against doping in sport" including "great personal risks".[5] WADA's former chief investigator, Jack Robertson, praised Stepanova for giving information without asking for a reduction of her sentence, to which she was entitled as a whistleblower.[7] She completed her full sentence.

On 1 July 2016, the IAAF approved Stepanova's application to compete as a neutral athlete.[8] Five days later, she competed at the European Championships but finished last in her heat with a torn ligament in her foot.[9] On 24 July, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected the recommendation to allow Stepanova to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics, citing her drug infraction in 2013, for which she had served her sentence.[10] WADA director general Olivier Niggli stated that his agency was "very concerned by the message that this sends whistleblowers for the future."[11] Stepanova said, "Unfortunately, the behaviour of [IOC President] Thomas Bach was the same as Russia's behaviour towards us."[12] In August 2016, WADA reported that Stepanova's athlete account, where she enters her whereabouts information, had been hacked. According to WADA, "A subsequent investigation allowed the agency to determine that no other athlete accounts on ADAMS have been accessed."[13] Bach said that the IOC was "not responsible for dangers to which Ms. Stepanova may be exposed."[14]

In October 2016, the IOC announced that Stepanova would receive assistance to continue her sports career and her husband would serve as a consultant for the IOC on doping issues.[15] The same year she was chosen as one of BBC's 100 Women[16]

Personal life

Rusanova was raised in Kursk.[17] She married Vitaly Stepanov in 2009 and gave birth to their son in November 2013.[18] She now uses the surname Stepanova (feminine form of Stepanov). Together with her husband and son, she permanently moved from Russia to Germany in December 2014.[19] The couple denied Russian media reports that they had applied for political asylum in Canada.[20] As of 2016, they live in the United States.[9]

Achievements

Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing  Russia
2011 European Indoor Championships Paris, France Disqualified 800 m 2:00.80
World Championships Daegu, South Korea Disqualified 800 m 1:59.74
2012 World Indoor Championships Istanbul, Turkey Disqualified 800 m 2:01.87

References

  1. ↑ Yuliya Stepanova profile at IAAF
  2. ↑ Turnbull, Simon (26 February 2013). "Marilyn Okoro set for belated bronze". The Independent.
  3. ↑ "ARD-Dokumentation deckt Doping und Vertuschungsapparat in Russland auf" [ARD documentary on doping in Russia] (in German). Westdeutscher Rundfunk. 3 December 2014.
  4. ↑ "Russian doping claims: 99% of athletes guilty, German TV alleges". BBC News. 4 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 "IAAF Taskforce: Interim report to IAAF Council, 17 June 2016" (PDF). IAAF. 17 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Door opened for "gamechanger" Stepanova to compete independently at Rio 2016".
  7. ↑ Epstein, David (4 August 2016). "On Eve of Olympics, Top Investigator Details Secret Efforts to Undermine Russian Doping Probe". ProPublica.
  8. ↑ Wilson, Stephen (1 July 2016). "Russian whistleblower cleared to compete as neutral athlete". Associated Press.
  9. 1 2 Ingle, Sean (6 July 2016). "Yuliya Stepanova makes her return but injury could end her Rio hopes". The Guardian.
  10. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Russia not given blanket Games ban by IOC". BBC. 24 July 2016.
  11. ↑ "WADA acknowledges IOC decision on Russia, stands by Agency's Executive Committee recommendations". WADA. 24 July 2016.
  12. ↑ "Video: Exclusive interview with Vitaliy und Yuliya Stepanov". Das Erste. 17 August 2016.
  13. ↑ "Rio Olympics 2016: Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova has account hacked". BBC News. 13 August 2016.
  14. ↑ Grohmann, Karolos (20 August 2016). "Any danger to whistleblower Stepanova not an IOC issue-Bach". Reuters.
  15. ↑ Wilson, Stephen (24 October 2016). "IOC says it is offering assistance to Russian whistleblowers". Associated Press.
  16. ↑ 2016, BBC, Retrieved 26 November 2016
  17. ↑ Brant, John (22 June 2016). "The Marriage That Led to the Russian Track Team's Olympic Ban". The New York Times.
  18. ↑ Ford, Bonnie D. (15 June 2016). "Athletes, others who raise doping concerns in sports often left whistling into the wind". ESPN.
  19. ↑ «Россия мне такого не простит». Продолжение перевода скандального фильма о допинге в России. sovsport.ru (4 December 2014)
  20. ↑ Schwartz, Daniel (13 January 2016). "Whistleblowers Yuliya and Vitaly Stepanov describe Russia's sports doping system". CBC News.
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