The world athletics governing body has caught 16 positive tests out of 1,532 samples since this January, IAAF general secretary Pierre Weiss said on Monday.

 

Weiss said one day after the conclusion of the world junior athletics championships that the positive cases didn't include those of US sprinters Marion Jones and Justin Gatlin.

 

The three-time 2000 Olympic champion Jones tested positive for the blood doping substance EPO at the national championships in July. The backup sample is yet to be examined.

 

The world and Olympic 100m champion Gatlin tested positive for the steroid testosterone in April, but the test result was not announced until late July. He equaled the 100m world record of 9.77 seconds and ran at the national championships after the positive test.

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2006)