World athletics body IAAF said yesterday it would investigate the authenticity of a letter signed by 10 Chinese athletes that says a Chinese Olympic coach ran a systematic doping programme up to the mid-1990s.

Signatories to the 21-year-old letter, published for the first time on private news portal Tencent Sports, included women’s long-distance runner Wang Junxia, an Olympic champion and world record holder.

The allegations in the document, which Chinese TV channel CCTV and other state media also reported, date back to before the IAAF presidency of Lamine Diack, who took over in 1999.

The letter, sent in March 1995 to journalist Zhao Yu but never previously publicised, suggests Ma ran a systematic doping programme in China some two decades ago.

The IAAF said its first action would be to verify that the letter was genuine.

“In this respect, the IAAF has asked the Chinese Athletics Association to assist it in that process,” it said.

Wang, whose 1993 world records for 3,000 and 10,000 metres still stand, was among a team coached by Ma, who for years had been dogged by doping allegations.

“For many years, (Ma) forced us to take large doses of banned drugs, it was true,” the letter signed by her and nine others said.

“Our feelings are sorry and complex when exposing his deeds. We are also worried that we would harm our country’s fame and reduce the worth of the gold medals we have worked very hard to get.”