Russian Doping Whistle-Blower Stepanova To Compete In Boston Race

Russian middle-distance runner and whistle-blower Yulia Stepanova

Russian doping whistle-blower Yulia Stepanova is planning to return to the track this weekend at the Boston Indoor Grand Prix.

Stepanova appears on the start list for a women's 800-meter race on January 28.

She will be considered a neutral athlete, a status approved by the International Association of Athletics Federations after she gave evidence to the World Anti-Doping Agency of systematic cheating in Russian sports.

She also competed as a neutral at last year's European championships.

Stepanova has been living with her husband at an undisclosed location in the United States because their lives have been threatened as a result of their assistance to anti-doping authorities.

The evidence they provided played a central role in the federation's decisions to suspend Russia's track-and-field team from global competition in 2015 and to exclude all but one member from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics last summer.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters