Rio 2016: Russian doping whistleblower fears for life
Russian doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova recently moved house, fearing for her life. / AP-Yonhap
By Choi Ha-young
The former Russian runner who fled to the United States after revealing her nation’s state-sponsored doping of athletes fears assassination.
“If something happens to us then you should know that it is not an accident,” Yuliya Stepanova told journalists though a video conference call, Tuesday. She is hiding somewhere in the U.S.
She took the recent hacking attempt on her World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) account as indicating someone is going after her.
“The only reason somebody would hack an Anti-Doping Administration and Management System account is to find out your exact location,” she said.
She and husband Vitaly, a former Russian anti-doping official, revealed Russia’s state-sponsored doping violations in 2014 through a German documentary.
“I was part of that system but I decided I no longer wanted to be a part of that system,” she said in the conference call.
Her revelation led the International Olympic Committee to slap a blanket ban on several Russian athletes, including track and field athletes. The IOC and WADA invited her to the Rio Games, but she refused due to safety concerns.