Sebastian Coe says he has not yet read the report that led to Alberto Salazar being banned for four years by the US Anti-Doping Agency – but insists that athletics does more than most sports to catch drug cheats.

The revelation came when the International Association of Athletics Federations president was asked what he thought about the Nike CEO, Mark Parker, exchanging emails with Salazar, in which they discussed testing testosterone on the legendary US coach’s son. Lord Coe, who was a long-term consultant for Nike, replied: “I haven’t actually read the report. I’ve read the executive summary, which took me through what was actually said. That was enough for me to get into business mode, which was to make sure that athletes don’t have a relationship with a suspended coach.”

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Coe also cautioned those criticising Sifan Hassan, the Dutch athlete previously coached by Salazar, after she raced away from her rivals to win gold at the 10,000m and 1,500m. When it was put to Coe that the British athlete Laura Muir had said that the race would be “under a cloud” because of Salazar’s ban, he answered: “Sadly it is the world we live in. It is inevitable that outstanding performances, given the broader nature of trust, are permanently questioned. I’m sure that when I was breaking three world records in 41 days back in 1979 there were people looking slightly askance at what I did.”

However Coe added: “I think we have to be quite careful about how we draw conclusions from the performance paradigm and shifts in that performance. The Athletics Integrity Unit are permanently vigilant. And there are tests that are intelligence-led.

“It is not like some sports where there are 30,000 tests and most of them are pretty meaningless. But we also have to be protective of athletes’ reputations, and I think that is a sensible precautionary balance.”

Coe also defended the decision to take the world championships to Doha – and hailed the performances at the event as the best ever. And despite the event being dogged with controversy, low crowds and concerns over the heat and humidity, Coe said it should be viewed as a success.

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“Our sport is in pretty good shape,” said Coe, who on Sunday bestowed the Golden Order of Merit, the IAAF’s highest award, on the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, for his services to sport.

“It is pretty clear to us on athlete performance this is the best world championships we have ever had.”

In a spiky press conference, Coe defended the decision to take the event to Qatar despite its human rights record, adding: “It is really important that the sport moves around the world, and that it cannot forge its relationships based on political structures or transitory political systems.

“We would not have sporting relationships if we predicated that on. That is why sport will continue to work and sweat as hard as it does to make social change.

“We are not competitors we are collaborators and organisations that are smart are actually partnering as they realise they can elicit that change.”