'Clean up your act': Olympian Brendon Reading backs WADA's decision to ban Russia

The 50 kilometre race walker points to the case of Jared Tallent as proof of why the World Anti-Doping Agency made the right call after he was robbed of medals on the international stage.

Fellow 50km walker Tallent has forged a lengthy anti-doping campaign sparked by his elevation from the silver-medal position to gold at the London Olympic Games when Russian Sergey Kirdyapkin failed a doping test.

Russia is banned from competing at the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

For Tallent's career-defining moment, it comes too late. But Reading hopes this will be the "kick in the bum it's going to take to get [Russia] to clean up their act".

"It's been so unfortunate for Jared that he has had to deal with this throughout his career," Reading said.

"There have been so many competitions where really, at the end of the day, he got the gold medal, but he never got to cross that line first and listen to his national anthem.

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"It is really disappointing that it happens in sport, not just in track and field, there is widespread doping across a lot of sports.

"It's not just the Russians doing it, a few other countries have had their problems. It is good WADA are making this statement.

"Hopefully it allows other countries to reassess themselves and know they do have to make an effort to keep their country clean."

The Australian Institute of Sport's chief medical officer David Hughes says WADA's stance is a step in the right direction.

Hughes, who will serve as the AOC's medical director at the Tokyo Games, believes for too long there has been inconsistency between penalties applied to individual athletes who cheat and the states or organisations who cheat.

ASADA chief executive David Sharpe says it is vital WADA sends a strong message against a Russian state sponsored campaign he labels "the worst case in the history of anti-doping".

Russian president Vladimir Putin says his country has grounds to appeal the ban he claims violates the Olympic charter. They have 21 days to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Individual Russian athletes who prove they are not doping will be able to compete under a neutral banner without national colours.

"They haven't really shown that they have cleaned up their systems over the past four years, so this is the kick in the bum it's going to take to get them to clean up their act," Tokyo hopeful Reading said.

"It's come from the top down, from the highest level. You do feel for some of the athletes who get put into those systems and it is in a sense forced upon them.

"It allows a bit more freedom for that new generation of athletes coming through to be a part of a better system and a cleaner system.

"For us, because the Russian have been out of the walks over the past couple of years, there has been a couple of Russians competing under that neutral status.

"This again just really ensures it is a clean, level playing field. It is quite assuring, the new system for Tokyo is based on your ranking now instead of just a standalone qualifying time.

"If you do make that top 60 for race walking, you'd like to think everyone ahead of you is clean."