Whistleblower Stepanova ends legal bid to compete in Rio

Yuliya Stepanova, the Russian 800m runner who lifted the lid on systematic doping and corruption in Russian athletics, has decided not to launch a final appeal against her ban from competing in the Rio Olympics.

Stepanova has been excluded from competing as a neutral athlete by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to a previously served sanction for doping.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has since deemed a blanket ban on Russian athletes who have served doping bans as unenforceable.

However, Stepanova and husband Vitaly, a former Russian Anti-Doping Agency employee who also provided information on doping, said they wouldn't continue a legal battle just hours before the opening ceremony for the Games on Friday.

"We believe that in exercising this discretion to deny Yuliya a place in the competition, it sends a message that the World Anti-Doping Code and the values of Olympism are merely words on a page," the Stepanovs said in a jointly issued statement.

"As a result, we will not file an appeal to CAS."

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned Russia from international competition, including the Olympics, after an investigation sparked by the Stepanovs' claims.

The IAAF, however, had backed Stepanova's inclusion in the games for her "truly exceptional contribution" to the anti-doping effort.

And the Stepanovs' statement launched a stinging attack on the IOC, accusing them of failing to live by the Olympic charter.

"We believe that the IOC's focus on Yuliya's past sanction for doping shifts the spotlight away from the real issue, which is that the IOC took no action against Russia for punishing Yuliya for being a credible whistle-blower by refusing to put her on Russia's Olympic team," the statement continued.

"At no point did the IOC, unlike the IAAF, demand publicly from the Russian sports authorities that they recognise our whistle-blowing as an important and valuable contribution for clean sport in Russia.

"This amounts to political discrimination in direct violation of the Olympic Charter and was nowhere mentioned in the IOC's decision."