Russian whistleblower Yuliya Stepanova's legacy is an incredibly complicated one, according to author and journalist, David Walsh.
Stepanova, along with her husband, Vitaly Stepanov, bravely shone a light on the systemic doping in operation by the Russian Olympic committee. Their work played a part in bringing those responsible to justice.
"She had some integrity and she had some desire for the world to be a better place," Walsh said.
Stepanova was also a willing participant in the system for many years and benefited from it.
This cost a number of her fellow athletes their livelihoods, as well as the opportunity to perform on the biggest stages.
For this reason, Stepanova looks back at her time as an athlete in Russia with embarrassment, according to Walsh.
"She totally looks back on her athletic life with shame," he said.
Her husband, as an employee of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency, was one of the first whistleblowers to try and shed light on the situation.
Stepanov was "unwavering in his commitment to a clean sport."
"To me as a whistleblower of integrity, his credentials where unimpeachable," Walsh acknowledged.
Stepanova thought this was a naive stance to take within Russian sport, which was allegedly rife with cheating.
"She believes the system in Russia can never be changed," Walsh said.
"He's crazy if he thinks he's going to be able to change this."
For his part, Stepanov pushed his wife to commit to changing Russian sport for the better, a move that did not come to fruition, to begin with.
As a result, Stepanov included Stepanova's transmissions in his correspondence with the World Anti Doping Agency. He also stayed with Stepanova for much of the year's she continued to use performance-enhancing drugs.
"He would have satisfied his conscience by saying that, when I inform WADA about the corruption going on in Russia, I don't exclude my wife."
There is a contradiction throughout the story, sympathy for Stepanova, whilst also acknowledging the harm she did to her fellow competitors and the integrity of the sport.
Her decision to engage with the whistleblowing effort followed a prolonged moment of introspection.
"She sees a woman who's actually made a complete mess of things," Walsh commented. Stepanova's ability to reflect on her actions brings about change within athletics, globally.
"There was an element in Yuliya of wanting what was right. When it came to bringing down Russia, Vitaly couldn't do it, only Yuliya could do it."
The Russian Affair is available to purchase now.
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
