Lord Sebastian Coe says the IAAF is determined to weed out cheats ahead of the 2021 Olympics

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe has warned his sport’s biggest names that reputation will be no barrier to a doping rap.

His comments follow the two-year ban handed out to the world 100metres champion Christian Coleman in October for ‘whereabouts’ violations after an investigation by the Athletics Integrity Unit.

Athletics is fighting to restore trust after the recent conviction of their former president Lamine Diack who, among other offences, was found guilty of covering up Russian doping cases in exchange for bribes.

In highlighting the independence and power of the AIU, which claimed its highest-profile scalp in Coleman, Coe said: ‘I like to think that it has shown the athletes that we’re not respecters or fearful of reputation here.

‘The nature of the sanctions has clearly shown that. Where there is an infraction we’re not fearful of sitting there going, “Oh, well that’s quite a big name”. It’s clear cut.

‘The AIU are not steeped in athletics. They just do a really thorough, forensic job. It’s a tough one, it’s not always easy and they’re not always going to be on everybody’s Christmas card list, nor should they be.

‘But I do hope that it has restored some confidence amongst the athletes that we’ve got an organisation out there that will fearlessly and ruthlessly weed out the cheats when and where they surface.’

Meanwhile, organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have announced they will spend £670million on Covid-19 counter-measures such as an infection control centre and regular testing.