This week, following three days of World Athletics Council meetings, the World Athletics Council has voted to lift the doping ban on Russian athletes but at the same time has voted to maintain the ban on Russian and Belorussian participation at World Athletic Championships due to the situation in Ukraine.  Furthermore Russia will not be permitted to host any international or European athletics events, and it will have no right to attend, speak or vote at meetings of Congress.

World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said: "The unprecedented sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus by countries and industries all over the world appear to be the only peaceful way to disrupt and disable Russia's current intentions and restore peace.”

He went on to say that “The death and destruction we have seen in Ukraine over the past year, including the deaths of some 185 athletes, have only hardened my resolve on this matter."

Coe reiterated that “The integrity of our major international competitions has already been substantially damaged by the actions of the Russian and Belarusian governments, through the hardship inflicted on Ukrainian athletes and the destruction of Ukraine's sports systems. Russian and Belarusian athletes, many of whom have military affiliations, should not be beneficiaries of these actions."

The World Athletics Council had shown real leadership and courage and my hope is that its decision will bring further pressure to bear on the International Olympic Committee who are intent on exploring a pathway to allow athletes from those nations to compete as neutrals at the Olympic Games next year. It’s a move which feels staggeringly out of step with global events, not least since the president of the Russian Federation has just been declared a war criminal by the International Criminal Court. The IOC’s only mitigation would appear to be that it’s a decision that has been taken in line with its own guiding principles and made within the spirit and values of the Olympic charter.