ALAMOSA – The Adams State University Department of Human Performance and Physical Education is pleased to host The Russian Doping Scandal: An insider’s crusade for ethics in international sport, with special guests Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov, at 6 p.m. Tuesday Feb. 6, in Richardson Hall Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.

Vitaly Stepanov, together with his wife Yuliya, worked to uncover serious doping offences in their home country. Yuliya is a world class Russian athlete who used performance enhancing drugs in order to be able to compete in World and European Championships on the Russian National team. Vitaly was a Doping Control Office and Educational Manager for the Russian Anti-Doping Agency who hoped to change the system for the better.

“The first time I heard the word whistleblower was in 2014, when I spoke to investigative journalist Hajo Seppelt,” Vitaly said. “Until I heard the word, I just looked at myself as a person who cares about fair competition and believes that something can be changed in my home country.

“Yuliya was part of the system that made everyone believe that doping was the only way to win medals in international competitions, but I actually say that this experience saved us as a family and saved our marriage,” Vitaly added. “For the first time in years, we started to look in the same direction and work towards the same mission. Yuliya finally realized these people were lying to her and today, now that she is clean, she is a different person. She knows that being a victim of the system is not an excuse, but that was life in Russian. She is sorry for what she did and hopes to have the chance to compete clean in IAAF competitions.”

Support for this free lecture was provided by Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at UCCS and El Pomar Youth Sports Park.

Caption: The free lecture, The Russian Doping Scandal, will feature guests Vitaly and Yuliya Stepanov on Feb. 6, in the Adams State Richardson Hall Auditorium./Photo courtesy of UCCS