Fearful For Their Lives

A day after the IOC rejected a request by his wife, former Russian drugs cheat Yulia Stepanova, to run in the Rio Games as an independent athlete, Vitaly Stepanov said an invite to attend the Rio Games as spectators felt like they were being bought."Stepanov, who previously worked for Russia's anti-doping agency, and his wife helped expose the doping scandal Clean Room Manufacturers which threatened to exclude Russia from the Olympics.The IOC decided on Sunday not to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes due to the country's doping history, allowing sports federations to decide on individual cases."If you are doping in a system that is similar to Russia, continue doing so because there is no reason to fight it because in the end the IOC will say they will not punish the system, but we will punish the whistleblower," he said."

A spokesman for the IOC could not be reached late on Monday for comment."She will never win another medal.He cautioned that the IOC's stance on Russia was a green light to others engaged in doping.Stepanov said the invitation to travel to Rio to watch the Games left them cold..Stepanov's wife continues to train and was still hoping the IOC might change its mind, he said."I felt like, 'Are you trying to buy us '" he said."My personal view, from the communications we had with people from the IOC, those people had no interest in clean sport," Stepanov said in a telephone interview to Reuters."I got the impression the only thing they cared about, even the person from the ethics department, is protecting the IOC as an organisation.The couple now live in an undisclosed location in the United States, fearful for their lives. It's more about her participating and trying to see how fast she can run by being an honest athlete," he added.

The IOC decided on Sunday not to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes, allowing sports federations to decide on individual cases."Is that how IOC treats whistleblowers Make them quiet by giving them IOC accreditation and access to VIP lounges.Moscow: A Russian whistleblower, who helped uncover the biggest doping scandal in decades, has said that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is more concerned about protecting the organisation than ridding world sport of drugs cheats."It says strong words but it acts weak.The IOC recognised Stepanova’s testimony and public statements as having "made a contribution to the protection and promotion of clean athletes, fair play and the integrity and authenticity of sport, the Rules of the Olympic Charter related to the subject."(We) cannot but be very disappointed that the IOC EB has obviously not been given the correct information by the IOC Ethics Commission," they said in a letter to IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper. "