Russian Olympic doping whistleblower drops her appeal to the IOC

(Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert, AP)RIO DE JANEIRO – A Court of Arbitration for Sport might have opened the door for Russians with doping sanctions to compete in Rio, but one will be noticeably absent – whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova.

The Russian 800-meter runner and her husband, Vitaly Stepanov, a former Russian Anti-Doping Agency employee, said they would not appeal their case for reinstatement further to CAS.

“Although we are heartbroken, we wish to clarify that we have from the beginning chosen to not follow a judicial path,” the couple said in a statement. “We understand that the (International Olympic Committee) has discretion to invite whomever they choose to the Games. We believe that…