by Our Sports Desk

ATHLETICS’ world governing body confirmed yesterday it is probing claims of historic state-sponsored doping in China, casting doubt over the legitimacy of long-standing world records.

According to Chinese media reports, double world record-holder Wang Junxia and nine teammates admitted to doping in a 1995 letter that has only just come to light.

They claimed they were unwilling participants in the doping, forced on them by renowned coach Ma Junren.

The athletes, known as Ma’s Army, won every women’s gold medal from 1500m to 10,000m at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart.

The legitimacy of Wang’s world records, set in the space of six days in Beijing in 1993, has long been questioned. Her 10,000m record of 29 minutes 31.78 seconds is still 22 seconds faster than any other woman has run.

The letter, sent to a journalist named as Zhao Yu, reportedly revealed that Ma’s athletes were forced to dope and, when they started to throw away the illegal drugs over fears for their health, they were injected personally.

“We are humans, not animals,” the alleged letter’s authors wrote.

“For many years, (he) forced us to take a large dose of illegal drugs. It was true.”

The IAAF confirmed it was looking into the letter and said any athlete proved to have admitted to doping before achieving a world record could be stripped of the title.

It said it was seeking Chinese Athletics Association help in verifying whether the letter is genuine.

If it is, Wang could be stripped of the records.

Wang, who won 5,000m gold at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, is a member of the IAAF Hall of Fame. The 43-year-old retired in 1997, having never failed a drugs test.

Ma himself has consistently denied using performance-enhancing drugs.