The World Anti-Doping Agency president said he had hoped that Russia would use the time since the last sport ban to get its anti-doping agency in order. Craig Reedie was speaking in Lausanne on Monday after WADA banned Russia from all major sporting events for four years.

"This is the fifth anniversary of the revelation of Russian cheating in the field of track and field athletics. I had hoped that we would close it after the meeting in the Seychelles. But we haven't been able to close it. It is not our fault that it's still open. I assure you: if this had not happened, we would have been further along," said Reedie.

When asked about the future of the Russian athletes who have been affected by the ban, Reedie said:

"They should continue to compete. They should make themselves fully available to the much-better regime of testing that is done by the Russian anti-doping agency. You have to remember that we have rebuilt the RUSADA completely over the last few years. And they are a good national anti-doping organisation. And if they do that then will be a mark in their favour."

WADA's executive committee made the decision to ban Russia from taking part in major sporting events saying the agency's experts had sufficient evidence that Russian authorities tampered with data from a Moscow laboratory to hide potential doping cases.