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PARIS. — Embattled IAAF president Sebastian Coe admits that his five-month tenure of athletics governing body has been a “real challenge”, but insisted that he is under no illusions about the problems ahead.

Since taking over from the disgraced Lamine Diack, Coe has had to battle through a scandal that has seen Russia banned over “state-sponsored” doping and a raft of top officials, including Diack, accused of taking bribes from doped athletes.

“The last few months have been a real challenge, you would be surprised if I said it wasn’t.

“The sport has been hit hard,” Coe said in a wide-ranging interview. — AFP.