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Russian Whistleblower Fears for Safety After Anti-Doping System Hacked

Stepanova said she would of course like to be in Rio De Janeiro, but she has heard stories about crime and lack of security in the Olympic city and thinks it would be easy for someone to hurt her if she were in Brazil right now

Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova says she fears for her safety since hackers infiltrated both her email account and the anti-doping system that keeps track of her whereabouts.

Stepanova, the 800-meter runner who was denied a spot in the Olympics by the International Olympic Committee, says she, her husband and their young son recently moved to another undisclosed location in the United States.

Stepanova unveiled details that led to the discovery of a wide-ranging doping system inside her home country. The Russian track team has been banned from the Olympics, but the IOC has allowed 278 athletes in other sports to compete.

Stepanova said she would of course like to be in Rio De Janeiro, but she has heard stories about crime and lack of security in the Olympic city and thinks it would be easy for someone to hurt her if she were in Brazil right now.

The World Anti-Doping Agency said last week that hackers had accessed their system. Included in that was information about Stepanova's whereabouts. All athletes are required to provide that information so they can be reached in case they're chosen for an out-of-competition drug test.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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