Doping allegations keep coming, highlighting a serious lack of resources — IAAF

Asked what needs to change in the world of athletics, Farah said: “In my opinion, if we all did what we do in the UK in terms of how we do testing, if every country applied to that rule, it would change dramatically”.

“No Russian athlete suspected of taking banned substances will take part in the upcoming world championships”, ITAR-TASS news agency quoted the secretary general of All-Russian Athletics Federation, Sergei Butov, as saying.

Four years ago, a team of academic researchers interviewed hundreds of athletes at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. The Sunday Times reported the study concluded that 29 to 34 % of the 1,800 rivals on the championships had violated anti-doping guidelines.

Athletics insiders point out that a large proportion of athletes confessing to having doped via an anonymous survey conducted on an iPad is by no means conclusive proof that a large proportion had been cheating.

The IAAF has come out fighting in the wake of allegations by the Sunday Times and German broadcaster ARD that it turned a blind eye to potential mass doping in the sport, claims which have overshadowed the build-up to the World Championships in Beijing, which get under way on Saturday.

They join Canada and Jamaica, members of the NACAC who had already publicly backed Coe ahead of the election to replace Senegals Lamine Diack, who is stepping down after 16 years, at the IAAF Congress in Beijing on Wednesday.

A few of them have already been sanctioned for doping offences up to now.

In 2014, athletics tested more than 25,000 samples, but the problem is with blood doping.

“Ten years might appear to be a very long time to look backwards, however the IAAF has all the time strived to do no matter it could actually to guard clear athletes”.

“The IAAF submitted those concerns to the research group, but has never heard back from them”, the governing body said. American pair Tyson Gay and Mike Rodgers, Jamaican Asafa Powell and Qatar’s Femi Ogunode have all returned from suspensions, along with world number one Gatlin, who has served two.

“This reanalysis has confirmed an extra 28 athletes with 32 opposed findings”.

But the IAAF whistleblower was clearly someone who felt that not enough was being done to tackle the problem of drugs in the sport. Intended for use on facilities, equipment, training, coaching or staging competitions, Coe says the scheme has been independently costed and audited by one of the world’s leading accountants. “No probability my identify is in there!”

French Athletics Federation President Bernard Amsalem today became the latest European governing body to confirm they are backing Coe, the double Olympic 1500 metres gold medallist.