Rio 2016: Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova will not contest ban

Yulia Stepanova was called a "symbol" for clean sport when she took part at this month's European Championships

Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova will not appeal against her ban from the Rio Olympic Games.

Athlete Stepanova, who helped expose state-backed doping, was ruled out when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned from Rio any Russian who had served a doping suspension.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) outlawed that ruling on Thursday.

But Stepanova, 30, said she was "hugely sad and heartbroken" at a lack of IOC support and therefore will not appeal.

Stepanova, who served a two-year ban for blood passport abnormalities in 2013, was not included in Russia's team but had hoped to be invited to the Games by the IOC to compete under a neutral flag.

She and husband Vitaly, a former Russian anti-doping official, said in a statement that the IOC had "turned a blind eye" to the risks the 800m runner took in exposing "systematic cheating in Russia".

"We believe that in exercising this discretion to deny Yuliya a place in the competition, it sends a message that the World Anti-Doping Code and the values of Olympism are merely words on a page," the statement added.

"As a result, we will not file an appeal to Cas."

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