IOC says it is offering assistance to Russian whistleblowers
Yulia Stepanova and husband, Vitaly Stepanov, met with IOC President Thomas Bach
The International Olympic Committee says it is offering assistance to the Russian husband and wife team who blew the whistle on widespread doping in their homeland.
The IOC says 800-metre runner Yulia Stepanova and her husband, Vitaly Stepanov, met with IOC President Thomas Bach in September to discuss the committee's offer of "assistance in their careers."
The IOC says in a statement to The Associated Press that Stepanova "is being given financial and other assistance so that she can continue her sports career and potentially join a national Olympic committee."
It says her husband, a former Russian Anti-Doping Agency employee, "will be providing a consultancy service to the IOC on all aspects of doping control and the protection of clean athletes." The IOC had turned down Stepanova's application to run as an independent athlete at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.