Jared Tallent is looking forward to the prospect of "clean" racing at the world athletics championships after Russia withdrew its dominant team of walkers in the wake of a series of doping allegations.
The team's head coach Viktor Chegin - who is under investigation by athletics' world governing body (IAAF) and the Russian anti-doping agency - has also announced his immediate retirement.
Australia's multiple world and Olympic medallist Tallent - who finished second behind Russian drug cheat Sergey Kirdyapkin in the 50km race at the 2012 London Olympics - is now a better chance to medal at next month's world championships in Beijing, despite battling form and personal issues earlier this year.
"Russia not sending any walkers to the world championships is a real surprise so I'm thinking something else may have happened," Tallent told AAP on Friday.
"My thinking is that some more doping bans may be announced soon.
"It's a weird feeling for me to be going into a race thinking that most likely it is going to be a clean race.
"It's very exciting for a lot of people in the sport.
"I'm looking forward to Beijing a lot more now since this announcement.
"I won't have the thought in the back of my head that I'll have to race the dirty Russians."
Tallent was also buoyed to learn of Chegin's retirement, although he noted that Russia's well-funded walking program could well continue in his absence.
More than 25 Russian walkers have been punished for doping in recent years, including four Olympic champions.
"It's a good day for the sport to get the rotten stench of Chegin out, but whether it actually changes anything, we will have to wait and see," said Tallent.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is yet to set a date for a hearing after the IAAF challenged the selective doping penalties handed down to six Russian walkers, including Kirdyapkin.
If CAS finds in the IAAF's favour, Tallent will be promoted to the gold-medal position in the 50km race at the London Games.
Russian athletics federation acting president Vadim Zelichenok told R-Sport agency it was "99 per cent" likely that the country would have no walkers at August's world titles in Beijing as an investigation into Chegin had yet to be completed.
The only chance for them to compete will be if the investigation was concluded very swiftly.
"At the moment, there is the suspicion that this discipline (of athletics) could bring us disgrace at the world championships," Zelichenok said.
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