Russia’s track and field team was suspended from competing in November 2015 after the publication of WADA’s report, with the IAAF upholding that ban in June this year after it was revealed numerous issues are yet to be resolved.
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Stepanova and her husband Vitaly came forth and made public incriminating information as to the inside workings of Russian athletics and state complicit cover ups.
Competitors from the country have been banned from global events since January, following a series of revelations of systematic doping in Russian Federation.
Russian doping whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova has become the first athlete to be cleared to compete at the Rio Olympics under a neutral flag.
“IAAF has guaranteed, depending on CAS decision on the application from OCR protecting the Russian athletes, who want to participate in the Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, they will review the decision”, she said.
While the International Olympic Committee has the final say on whether she can compete, it has followed IAAF recommendations in the past.
When announcing the reanalysis, the IOC stated that as a result, up to 31 athletes from six sports could be banned from competing at the Olympic Games in Rio.
Today, they granted 800metre runner Stepanova that permission and also cleared her to race in the European Championships in Amsterdam next week. Russia’s own anti-doping agency was nearly entirely shut down past year after it faced coverup claims.
Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva applied on Thursday following world champion hurdler Sergey Shubenkov and long jumper Daria Klishina.
All applications must be submitted by 4 July, with decisions on all applicants to be made by 18 July. The Olympic track and field competition starts on August 12.
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There is a dispute between the IAAF and the International Olympic Committee over how such “neutral athletes” from Russian Federation would compete at the Olympics. He added the federation supported 68 applications by Russians to the IAAF but “maybe someone filed applications themselves”.
