Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt has said the recent decision to uphold the ban on Russian athletes from participating in next month's Rio Olympics will act as a strong deterrent to stop athletes taking performance-enhancing drugs.
On Thursday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport had dismissed the appeal of 68 track and field Russian athletes over the ban imposed on them.
The Russian athletes had earlier appealed before the CAS in their bid to overturn the ban imposed by the governing body of world athletics, the IAAF, over accusations of state-sponsored doping in the country.
Welcoming the decision, the six-time Olympic gold medallist said the ruling 'will scare a lot of people, send a strong message', Sport24 reported.
Bolt, the world's fastest man, also said the recent steps by authorities will make it clear that 'if you cheat or if you go against the rules' then 'serious action' will be taken.
He was speaking in London ahead of his Diamond League 200m event on Friday.
The verdict assumes significance as an independent WADA report declared that Russia orchestrated state-sponsored doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The report also said Russia's secret service and top sporting authorities conspired to cover up widespread doping, substituting doping-tainted samples with clean ones during the Winter Games in Russia.
