Four Corners: July 18

Next week Four Corners screens “The Race to Dope”, a film by Xavier Deleu for Arte France, as elite Russian athletes reveal how they cheated the system.

When athletes take to the track and the field in Rio in just a few short weeks, they will be competing for Olympic glory. But they won’t be competing against the athletics powerhouse of Russia. The team has effectively been banned from international athletics competition.

“Many champions are not gods or great talents, they are just liars. That’s what disgusted me: the lies. These people are admired, but they’re just liars and cheats.” – Yulia Stepanova

Russian athletics has been brought to its knees by one of its own, 800m runner Yulia Stepanova.

“We all knew that everyone was doped. Everyone supported it.” – Yulia Stepanova

On Four Corners, she speaks out, with extraordinary candour, about her decision to reveal the systematic doping within Russian athletics.

She details her own cheating, using EPO, testosterone and steroids. And takes aim at the entire Russian athletics system, alleging that Russia’s coaching staff and anti doping authorities were complicit.

But as this program makes clear, the Russians are not the only ones under a cloud.

“I thought I’d never be caught. I figured that others would be caught before me and that I’d always be lucky and slip through the net.” – French Athlete

This investigation talks to three world class athletes about the inducements to cheat and how they thought they could game the system.

“It was a lot of money…but I agreed because that year, I could become European champion. The fee would pay for itself.” – Italian Athlete

It’s a rare and honest insight into the world of doping.

“It’s the only medal I have today that, more or less, I won without doping.” – French Athlete

This investigation, across multiple countries, uncovers the source of many of the illicit drugs used and shows how easy they are to obtain.

But the cost of speaking out about doping in sport can be steep.

“We are afraid for our lives, afraid that someone might try and kill us. We don’t know how far this story will go.” – Yulia Stepanova

8.30pm Monday 18th July on ABC.