Sebastian Coe is 'saddened' by Russia’s indoor absence at World Indoor Championships

Sebastian Coe speaks during the opening ceremony during day one of the IAAF World Indoor Championships (Getty)

IAAF president Sebastian Coe says he is saddened by the absence of Russia from the World Indoor Championships here in Portland but feels the governing body were left with no alternative.

He also said that there was no overwhelming desire among athletes to have the nation banned from this summer’s Olympics.

Following evidence of systematic doping, all Russian track and field athletes, whether linked to doping or not, have been suspended from international competition since November. The IAAF Council will convene in May to decide whether they can be reinstated for Rio.

And Coe said: “It saddens me that we’re in this situation. It is painful. I don’t like to see clean athletes sitting out championships but I think we were not left with any other alternative.”

Having consulted athletes past and present on the issue, he said they had no overriding opinion. “There’s no prevailing view,” he said. “On the athletes’ commission, which I spent quite a few hours with a few weeks ago, you’ve got a real bandwidth of views.”

Russia was second in the medals table at the last World Indoors in Poland in 2014, with five medals including three golds.

Meanwhile, Coe backed organisers of next year’s World Championships in London to overcome their boardroom battles and put on an event worthy of the capital. Four members have quit the London 2017 board in recent months following a split.

But Coe said UK Athletics bosses Ed Warner and Niels de Vos, who head the current management for the championships, were the right men to continue at the helm. “I’m sure London will be a spectacular success,” he said. “I have no reason to think otherwise.”