Body suspends 28 athletes after retests from two World Championships — IAAF

But IAAF’s long-term storage and retesting strategy concerning IAAF Championships, which began in 2005 with anti-doping samples from that year’s IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, has led to disciplinary action being commenced against a further 28 athletes following a second reanalysis.

As the election campaign entered its final stages, Sebastian Coe timed his kick for maximum effect with the kind of us-against-them statement designed to galvanize support in his run for the presidency of track and field’s global governing body.

If athletes are found guilty of doping violations, the IAAF said they “will correct the record books and re-allocate medals as necessary”.

In a open letter of more than 2,000 words to Coe on Wednesday, Ashenden wrote: ” Does the IAAF pursue its anti-doping mandate with the same single-minded, all-consuming dedication that athletes adopt in their pursuit of winning?

“It is costly; it ties them up often in expensive litigation”, Coe said.

“If you are saying to me would I rather not have athletes that have served bans competing in major championships, the answer is probably yes, but he is eligible to compete and he should be given the respect as a competitor who is eligible to compete”, Coe said.

None had been scheduled to travel to China for the 2015 World Championships, which are due to take place at the Beijing National Stadium between 22-30 August. Five of the six medalist represented Russian Federation or Belarus.

IAAF announced on Tuesday that 28 athletes have been reprimanded and disciplined after the sample provided by them during the two events – and which was proactively stored by the IAAF at the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses (LAD) in Lausanne in anticipation of new scientific developments – tested positive.

But, despite its fierce defence if its drug testing record, the organisation has come in for increasing criticism, with the allegations the latest scandal to threaten the already fragile reputation of the sport.

Data from thousands of blood tests performed between 2001-12 came to the attention of the Sunday Times newspaper and German broadcaster ARD this month, leading to accusations that the IAAF had failed to act on hundreds of suspicious results, many involving Olympic medallists.

“The findings reconfirm, yet again, the commitment of the IAAF to target and uncover all cheating in the sport, no matter how long it takes”, the governing body said.

In 2006 Gatlin was given an eight-year ban after testing positive for testosterone.

“Our sport is about a great deal more than doping”, said Coe, who will find out if he will become IAAF president on August 19.

“But we will do everything in our power, and use every tool available to protect those clean athletes who form the large majority of our sport”.