Numerous doping cases in track and field may go unpunished because the sport's governing body tested samples after their time limit had expired.

The World Anti-Doping Agency said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the IAAF wrongly interpreted a rule change in April 2015 when it decided to retest samples from the 2005 and 2007 world championships. Testers found 28 athletes had tested positive at both championships, but only the samples from 2005 missed the deadline.

The IAAF believed it was able to retest the 2005 samples because the statute of limitations in the WADA code had increased to 10 years in 2015, but WADA said the previous eight-year limit should have been used.

"If the previous eight-year statute of limitations has expired prior to 1 January 2015, it does not extend to 10 years under the 2015 code" WADA spokesman Ben Nichols told the AP.

Doping samples from the 2005 worlds in Helsinki stopped being eligible for retesting in 2013, well before the IAAF began its latest round of checks in April 2015.

With this legal technicality perhaps Aleksey Voyevodin will keep the silver in the 50 km, or we assist another appeal to the CAS.

Our news dated April 4, 2016: click here

The news on "The Associated Press" of April 6, 2016: click here