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World athletics head Lord Coe has told the ´óÏó´«Ã½ he cautiously welcomes the World Anti Doping Authority (WADA) plan to lift the suspension on Russia's anti-doping organisation Rusada.

Coe states 'none of us came into sport to keep athletes out of competition' but he stressed everything needed to be in order before the country returns to athletics. 'We want Russian athletes returning to competition but on the basis they come from a trusted system that is safe and secure and we're not remotely jeopardising ambitions of clean athletes.'

Coe acknowledged that if the ban on Rusada was lifted, it would be a 'major step' in the process of Russia competing again in track and field. Russia's been banned from the sport since 2015 following widespread doping violations.

From Sportsweek Sunday 16 September 2018