Three senior athletics officials handed life bans by the IAAF

The IAAF ethics commission have taken action

Three senior officials, including the son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack, have been banned for life from all athletics activity, the governing body's ethics commission has announced.

The sanctions are all linked to allegations of a cover-up over failed doping tests in Russian athletics.

Papa Diack, a former marketing consultant to the IAAF, Valentin Balakhnichev, the former President of the All-Russia Athletic Federation and Alexei Melnikov, who was a senior ARAF coach for long-distance walkers and runners, received lifetime suspensions.

Lamine Diack's son Papa is among the officials banned

Gabriel Dolle, who was the IAAF's anti-doping director, has been given a five-year ban for his part in the doping scandal which has rocked world athletics.

The IAAF's ethics commission found the trio to have blackmailed Russian runner Liliya Shobukhova, London Marathon winner in 2010, and made her pay a bribe for a positive drugs test to be covered up.

London Marathon 2010 winner Liliya Shobukhova was found to have been blackmailed

Lamine Diack, who was succeeded as president by Lord Coe in August, is himself under investigation by French police on suspicion of taking more than one million euros to cover up positive tests.

Lord Coe said: "The life bans announced today could not send a stronger message that those who attempt to corrupt or subvert the sport of athletics will be brought to justice."

The life bans... could not send a stronger message that those who attempt to corrupt or subvert the sport of athletics will be brought to justice.

Lord Coe

The ethics commission's findings state: "The head of a national federation, the senior coach of a major national team and a marketing consultant for the IAAF conspired together (and, it may yet be proven with others too) to conceal for more than three years anti-doping violations by an athlete at what appeared to be the highest pinnacle of her sport.

"All three compounded the vice of what they did by conspiring to extort what were in substance bribes from Liliya Shobukhova by acts of blackmail. They acted dishonestly and corruptly and did unprecedented damage to the sport of track and field which, by their actions, they have brought into serious disrepute."