Calls were made yesterday for records held by former East German athletes to be scratched from the record books. Werner Franke, a German molecular biologist, has uncovered evidence of widespread, state-sponsored, drug abuse by East German athletes before the Berlin Wall came down. At a seminar for British sports representatives in London, Franke claimed he had the files from the Stasi, the East German secret service, which detail the exact dosages to be given to athletes. Franke said: "It has been said that records could not be reset, because there wasn't any proof. Well there is now".

However, a spokesman for the International Amateur Athletic Federation stressed that it was unlikely that records would be changed. "We can only deal with athletes individually. The documents would mean nothing to us. We need personal declarations and the responsibility is individual and not collective."