BOSTON — Yuliya Stepanova, the middle-distance runner who helped expose state-sponsored doping in Russia and set off a global scandal ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympics, returned to international competition on Saturday.
Stepanova, a former member of Russia’s national track team now living in hiding in the United States with her husband, Vitaly Stepanov, and their 3-year-old son, ran the 800 meters at the Indoor Grand Prix in Boston. Although she was barred from competing in Rio, she received special permission from global track and field officials to compete Saturday as a neutral individual unaffiliated with any nation.