Yuliya Stepanova's Olympic fate in hands of IOC Ethics Commission
By Stephen Turner
Last Updated: 07/07/16 3:53pm
Yuliya Stepanova will be asked to appear before the International Olympic Committee's ethics branch before her place at the Rio Games is confirmed.
The 800m runner was last week given special permission by the IAAF to compete under a neutral flag in Brazil despite the ban on Russian athletes.
Stepanova's exemption was granted because of her role in uncovering systematic doping among her country's athletes, but the IOC must sanction her participation.
And a press release said it would be down to the organisation's Ethics Commission to make a decision.
"The deliberations of the IOC Ethics Commission will include the opportunity for a hearing for Mrs Stepanova," the statement said.
"As soon as the advice of the IOC Ethics Commission is available, the IOC Executive Board will then take all of the circumstances of the case into consideration and decide whether it merits an exception to the rules of the Olympic Charter."
Stepanova returned to international competition in Amsterdam on Wednesday but dropped out of her heat with a foot injury while well off the pace.
The whistleblower, meanwhile, has been held up as an example to follow by IAAF president Seb Coe, who said: "I don't want this just to be the end of the story.
"And I make this offer to all athletes. If you think you can help us get through this pathology quicker, if you can help us understand the nature of the challenge that we're dealing with, grab it with both hands and come forward."
