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 Eastern Europeans, including Russians, make up a large number of the
28, sources familiar with the testing told Reuters on Tuesday.
They were not aware of any Americans on the list and the BBC
reported there were no British athletes.
The world athletics governing body said it could not yet name the 28
or even their nationalities, "due to the legal process".
"A large majority of the 28 are retired, some are athletes who have
already been sanctioned, and only very few remain active in sport,"
the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said.
"The IAAF is provisionally suspending them and can confirm that none
of the athletes concerned will be competing (at the world
championships) in Beijing."
The 2015 world championships start in the Chinese capital on Aug.
22.
The tests were the second for samples from the 2005 world
championships in Helsinki.
The first, in 2012, revealed six adverse findings. Five of the six
were medal winners, all representing either Belarus or Russia.
Two other athletes, an Indian discus thrower and Ukrainian hammer
thrower, tested positive during the championships.
Officials at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) would not comment
on the cases, saying they would await the conclusion of the testing
process.
If violations are confirmed, the IAAF said it would correct the
record books for the 2005 and 2007 world championships, which were
held in Osaka, and re-allocate medals as necessary.
"The latest scientific breakthroughs in anti-doping technology and
analysis have been employed in the re-analysis of these samples to
allow us to find previously undetectable substances," Martial Saugy,
director of the Swiss Laboratory for Doping Analyses in Lausanne,
said in a statement.
Since 2005, the IAAF has stored athletes' samples from previous
championships at the laboratory for future re-analysis.
The latest retesting began in April, "well before the most recent
allegations made against the IAAF by the ARD and The Sunday Times",
the IAAF said.
The German broadcaster and British newspaper had criticized the
IAAF, saying it had failed to investigate hundreds of what they
called "suspicious" drug tests between 2001 and 2012.
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"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.
The IAAF took advantage not only of improved testing procedures but
also a longer statute of limitations for retesting samples. It was
recently extended from eight to 10 years.
"This was one of a number of enhancements made within the 2015 World
Anti-Doping Code that we hope will significantly strengthen
anti-doping program worldwide," WADA said.
It would not name what scientific breakthroughs might have been used
in the testing.
"WADA does not disclose when we incorporate new techniques or
methodologies in anti-doping, as this can serve to assist those that
choose to dope," the agency said.
To date, nine athletes have been sanctioned after retests of samples
from various world championships.
"The IAAF does not shy away from the fact that some athletes
continue to cheat and defraud their fellow competitors," the
federation said in its statement.
"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."
(Writing by Gene Cherry, Editing by Mitch Phillips)
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