Athletics-Stepanova eligible to compete as independent - IAAF

MUMBAI, July 1 (Reuters) - Russian doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova's application to compete as an individual athlete has been accepted, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said on Friday. The former drugs cheat's revelations helped expose the massive doping problem in her country and the middle-distance runner went into hiding after disclosing the issue. The IAAF said its doping review board unanimously accepted Stepanova's application and that they had received more than 80 formal requests from Russian athletes seeking exceptional eligibility to compete in an individual capacity. "Stepanova is now eligible to compete in International Competitions as an independent neutral athlete," the IAAF said in a statement. (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly; Editing by John O'Brien)