In 1993, a red tide swept the world of distance running.That year, Chinese women broke 68 domestic and world records, including the women's 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 10000m world records.The 3000m and 10000m records still stand, and Chinese women won every distance event at that year's World Championships.It was, to say the least, eyebrow-raising. It preceded the current era of default scepticism about performances, but even then, people knew dodgy when they saw it. Whenever a previously unheralded country produces unprecedented success in women athletes, but not men, it's doubly suspicious, because most doping benefits women much more than men.In any event, having produced no female distance runners before (and few since, for that matter), China was, for one "glorious" generation, a dynasty. The athletes became known as "Ma's Army", after their coach, Ma Junren, who assured the world that it had no reason for doubt.Ma attributed the success to altitude training in Tibet, turtle blood, caterpillar fungus and crushed sea horses (and no doubt, the tears of all non-Chinese women who may have hoped to win medals in 1993, or break some of the records from then on). Oh, and he also banned long hair. And dating.Then, just as quickly as they ran, they disappeared, but not before leaving a gaping hole in the sport's credibility.No female athlete has come close to the 3000m and 10000m records, though the 1500m and 5000m records have fallen.Now, 23 years later, a letter has emerged alleging that coach Ma may have supplemented those powdered sea horses with a cabinet full of illegal drugs. The letter, purportedly written in early 1995, claims that Ma forced his athletes to take what they knew were illegal substances, and uses words like "child mistreatment" and "torture" to describe the doping regime, which they also say caused liver pains, changes in voice and other complications (all classic hallmarks of steroid abuse).It was signed by a number of Ma's Army including the biggest name of all, Wang Junxia. Wang holds those untouchable 3000m and 10000m world records, and won Olympic and World Championship gold over that unbelievable period in the 1990s.The athletes sent the letter to a Chinese journalist, who seems to have sat on it for 19 years, until he published a book called Ma's Army Investigation last year. The journalist had hinted at untoward practices before, but held the letter back until his book was published, and the letter appeared online in China.Perhaps he knew what fate might befall him had he punctured the turtle blood legend at the time. The athletes certainly did - their letter predicts "obstruction and persecution", and promises support to the journalist ("we will not let you suffer this alone"). Scary stuff.In response, the IAAF, that bastion of anti-doping ethics and good governance, issued a statement in which it bizarrely said it would seek to verify the authenticity of the letter in collaboration with the Chinese Athletic Association.That seems to me to be like asking a well-known car thief to help you recover your car after it has been stolen. If the letter is genuine, and there's nothing to suggest it isn't, then the athletes are claiming that the state, China, forced them to use illegal drugs against their will. In whose mind is it a good strategy to ask that very same state to incriminate itself? The IAAF's, that's who.But such is sport these days. Instead of reaching out to the journalist, or even better, the athletes who allegedly signed this letter, the IAAF will keep it "in the family", asking the allegedly guilty party to collaborate on what would basically be a confession.Whistle-blowers? Who needs them. Just ask the alleged doping instigator!Speaking of which . someone had better check in on Wang Junxia and the other nine signatories - and their families. I'm not sure what the Chinese equivalent of a Siberian salt mine is, but I'd start there.It's a sad reality that sport simply demands scepticism. This is yet another disheartening chapter...