Coe: Ban doper coaches too

COACHES and agents should be banned for life if they are involved in doping, Lord Coe has said.

In the wake of a doping exposé by The Daily Telegraph, the head of the International Association of Athletics Federations has called for a crackdown on the “hinterland” of influential figures around athletes.

Despite claims by an athletes representative registered with his organisation that “everyone” was using designer drugs, Lord Coe argued that the sport was moving in the right direction. This week Justin Gatlin, the world 100m champion, became embroiled in a new doping scandal after Robert Wagner, an agent connected to him, and his coach Dennis Mitchell offered to supply performance enhancing drugs. They were secretly recorded saying the use of drugs was still widespread.

Lord Coe, who has been vocal in his support for lifetime bans, said that the same punishment for those surrounding an athlete “has to be [a] logical extension” if they become involved with doping.