The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has refuted allegations published by The Sunday Times and ARD over the weekend.

In a statement released yesterday, the IAAF said it had taken the allegations seriously and investigated them thoroughly.

"The published allegations were sensationalist and confusing. The results referred to were not positive tests. In fact, ARD and The Sunday Times both admit that their evaluation of the data did not prove doping," the release said.

According to the IAAF, the data on which the reports were based were not secret.

"The IAAF published a detailed analysis of this data more than four years ago. The Sunday Times' story is based on the allegation that six specific athletes recorded suspicious results which we did not follow up.

"In fact, as the newspaper was told before publication, each test led to intensive follow-ups - the result of which the six athletes were caught cheating and banned."

The body said there was no perfect system for catching drug cheats, but that it had been at the forefront of drug testing for years.

"In order to protect clean athletes, the IAAF always welcomes any information which can lead to the opening of proceedings against an athlete or support personnel for a doping rule violation. In this regard, we will study the other aspects of the ARD TV programme to see if it is able to assist. The IAAF also continues to cooperate with and assist WADA in its ongoing investigations."