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Olympians who found workaround to political circumstances

Track officials say Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova could be allowed to compete at the Olympics even though the rest of the Russian track team remains banned.

The IAAF, track and field's world governing body, said its doping review board accepted Stepanova's application to compete as an independent athlete under "exceptional eligibility" rules. Even if approved by the full International Olympic Committee, Stepanova wouldn't be the first to find a workaround to political circumstances.

She would join this list of Olympians who competed under unusual conditions, such as for nations that were in the process of unifying, breaking up or boycotting the Olympics.