Olympics-Athletics-Stepanovs decline invitation as spectators

July 25 (Reuters) - Russian doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova and her husband said on Monday they would not accept an International Olympic Committee (IOC) invitation to attend the Rio Games as spectators. "We never blew the whistle with the intent to getting a spectators' invitation to Rio," the couple said in a letter to IOC Director General Christophe de Kepper after the IOC said on Sunday the middle distance runner was ineligible to compete in the Games. "We respectfully decline your invitation as spectators, but kindly ask you to give Yuliya the fair treatment she deserves." (Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Pritha Sarkar)