RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova’s electronic account at the World Anti-Doping Agency has been illegally accessed, WADA said on Saturday. The anti-doping body said a “perpetrator” had illegally obtained the password for the middle-distance runner’s account, and accessed details which would normally include her registered whereabouts. “The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that Yulia Stepanova’s password for WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) was illegally obtained, which allowed a perpetrator to access her account on ADAMS,” WADA said in a statement. Stepanova, in hiding in North America, helped reveal the biggest state-backed doping program in Russia and was forced to flee the country with her husband for fear of her life. As a result Russia’s track and field team has been banned from the Rio Olympics while all Russian competitors in other sports had to prove they were clean by meeting several criteria in order to be eligible to compete in Brazil.

Source: Huffington Post August 13, 2016 17:43 UTC