The International Association of Athletics Federations council has approved plans to revert to four-year bans for doping offenders from January 1, 2015.
According to The Guardian, the sport has been thrown into turmoil recently by news that Tyson Gay, Asafa Powell and Veronica Campbell-Brown had failed tests, along with a number of Russian and Turkish athletes, casting a cloud over the world championships, which start in Moscow on Saturday.
A statement approved by acclamation at the IAAF Congress in Moscow read that the IAAF Council would like to reiterate the governing body's long-standing and unwavering commitment against doping in athletics.
It further read that the IAAF had an ethical obligation to the overwhelming majority of athletes and officials who believe in clean sport.
Last month, the London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said that the two-year suspension rule did a lot of damage to athletics.
