so vitaly stepanov wrote to the russian anti—doping agency about the culture.test tactical race in the programme. meanwhile his doping wife went from strength to strength. at the world championships in south korea, yulia stepanova competed alongside some of the finest runners in the sport. but her performance arose suspicions. finest runners in the sport. but her performance arose suspicionslj thought performance arose suspicions.” thought she would not be a threat at all. i led the hallway in the semifinal and just at the end i got taken over semifinal and just at the end i got ta ken over by semifinal and just at the end i got taken over by two girls, one of whom was yulia stepanova. it is the russian showing better form here... i was very shocked to see her in front of me. she may have done enough. we will see how the semifinals pan out... after the event she looked very guilty. i said to my husband that i thought she was cheating, i think she looks very sorry for me. from that moment on she almost could not look me in the eyes. eventually, the authorities c

for their own security, the stepanovs left their homeland.ading a hand—to—mouth existence. for safety reasons, we agreed that we would not film in yulia and vitaliy‘s place. they are worried about their security. but i can tell you that it is in a local housing block in a not very nice part of town. it is very basic. training alone is farfrom ideal for an elite athlete. yulia had hoped to compete under a neutral flag at the rio 0lympics, but the ioc refused because of her doping past. world sporting agencies have been lukewarm, at best, in their support. i think there are some people in those organisations who would prefer that we do not exist, that we did not share what we know. there are corrupt people in those organisations, and their goals are not to promote 0lympic values. they want to steal money. the classic sports structure and system does not want whistle—blowers coming forward, because it brings bad news about the sport, and that is contrary to what they want, and it ultimately hurts the brand. in russia, the whistle—blower got a co

this is yulia stepanova and vitaly stepanov, an elite athlete and an anti—doping officer.hocking revelations exposed the dirty secrets of russian athletics. three damning reports commissioned by the world anti—doping agency. much of them based on the testimony of this couple. it found that many athletes have taken illegal drugs between 2011 and 2015. for years sports competitions have been hijacked by the russians. coaches and athletes have been playing on an uneven field. sports fans and spectators have been deceived. it is time that stops. yes, stops. for russia there was humiliation and a ban on hundreds of athletes from the rio 0lympics. but president vladimir putin remains defiant. he believes his sportsmen and women have been victims of double standards and political interference. i travelled to the us to meet them, i can't say exactly where. they have spent the last two years staying under the radar. why did they take such extraordinary risks that force them to lead a life on the run? thousands of miles from home, they may never return to russia. yulia stepanova was

the stepanovs said the doping programme was approved at the very top.rts, and interviews with other insiders. despite denials of state involvement, this official laboratory covered up and destroyed hundreds of samples. it lost its accreditation, and has been out of action for more than a year. this moscow lawyer represents several athletes accused of doping. his clients dismiss the evidence, and call yulia stepanova a cheating hypocrite. she's not a hero, because there's nothing brave in it. i think the main motive for her, as for any other athlete who is involved in doping, is a financial motive. but a journalist who has been investigating doping for decades, and exposed the cyclist lance armstrong, believes people have misunderstood and undervalued her, in russia and in the wider world. yulia stepanova did this in return for no motive. some people have said that she's a doper. but those people are showing a lack of empathy for where she has come from and what she has done. if they bothered to look closely at her story, they would have nothing but unqu