Sorry, Antonio, but in some case I can't agree with you. I also think that some athlete is under drug, but I never was surprised by the Chineses record.
One question : if a Country like Norway, where the number of female runners was so little than normally it was not possible to organize races on track for WOMEN ONLY (a lot of time Ingrid Kristiansen or Grete Waitz competed in mixed races) was able to produce the 2 best runners in a period of 10 years, why do you think that a Country like China, where there were one million women running with an organized plan (the organization started in 1985 having the final goal to have OG for 2000), under a very great motivation lasting 6-8 years, couldn't produce SOME runner able to beat the World Record ?
I want to remember the history of the group. In China, almost 1 million young girls went to run with the dream of OG. It was not a goal of money, but ideological. The best runners wanted to be the CHINESE HEROES, going on the red book of Mao on his side. Their training was unbelievable under the point of view of the continuity and the motivation, using 3 sessions per days for many years.
After 3 years, about 300 selected runners were collected under the guide of Ma Juren in Liaoning area. He worked for other 3 years with the leading group, reducing it at less than 50 units, and AMONG THEM THERE WERE NOT WANG JUNXIA. In 1991, Ma Juren knew that in the area there was a girl beating the boys in the mixed races on road, and went to speak with her. She went for a test, running 1500m in 4:17.18. After 8 month Junxia Wang became World Junior Champion in 10000m, running 32:29.90 and 8:55.50 in 3000m. IN ONE YEAR, SHE WAS ABLE RUNNING 3:51.92 / 8:06.11 / 29:31.78 (with the second half in 14:26) and a full Marathon in 2:24:07, when she was only 20y old.
Regarding the race of the record, I remember that the second back her was Zhong Huandi, well known, running 30:13.37, while the 3rd was Zhang Lirong in 31:09.25.
This demontrates that there was not a strategy of drug, because of sure the 3rd Chinese doesn't need to use doping for running 31:09, selected among 300 runners selected among 1 million running people. I had another idea : Wang Junxia was one example of runner at the chromosomal border between the sexes (also looking at her morphology is possible to see a lot of male particulars), and really nobody wanted to analyse this aspect.
What happened after 1993 ? China didn't have OG, and every project for the sport was abandoned. Not only, but the Liaoning region asked for the 80% of all the money that the group could earn, while the previous agreement between Ma Juren and the Region was that all the money won by the group had to be used for building a big Training Center for may be 400 athletes. This change of goal meant a lack of respect for the athletes, that felt them deceived. So, the motivation in all the athletes, that before were pushed by a big ideological strength, suddenly finished, beacuse they understood to have wasted many years of their life for a wrong ideal.
We are western people, and cannot understand how much strong can be an ideological motivation for asian people. You can remember the example of Tsuburaya, best Japanese Marathon runner that, non winning Tokyo OG, killed himself making harakiri.
So, don't be surprised if women so motivated, selected in a field of 1 million runners, could have SOME athlete beating every World Record : Chinese women were like Kenyan and Ethiopian men, statistic isn't an opinion.
Regarding other point that I read from when I came back from Qatar (yesterday night), I can explain that I left Lebid because I didn't agree his choice of running last year W indoor Ch instead WCCCh. Now, I have very friendly relations with Sergey, and when he needs some advice, I give him, BUT NO MORE A FULL PROGRAMME, because I cannot do a programme not following my goals.
At least, my opinion about the improvement in speed and the improvement in every type of performance.
Of course, is obvious that IF WE ARE ABLE RUNNING FASTER EVERYWHERE, WE CAN IMPROVE. But I think that there is too much phylosophy in all this talking, and little substance. If I give to an athlete a programme with 40 km a day, 10 x 1000m in 2:28 rec. 1:00 and 15 x 400 in 52.0 rec. 1:30 on track, and I find some one able to do it, of sure I can have an athlete able running 3:22 / 12:20 and 25:30. The problem is : HOW CAN I BRING AN ATHLETE TO IMPROVE IN TRAINING ? Because it obvious that an athlete improving in training can improve his performance, but is not so obvious what road he has to follow for improving in training. So, please, stop thinking of training like something of mathematical. The real problem in training is the ability in growing every where, preserving a good balance between all what you need. So, training is more an art than a science. How many times we had the some athlete running better when his tests were less significant, because not under psychological pressure ? Do you know, for example, that before OG of Athens, the best tests of Baldini were in 1996, after winning WHMCh, and in spite of this, he dropped out New York Marathon after 27 km because nervously empty ? So, what is the correct system for measuring the level of your nervous tank ? Believe me, a lot of people are able to build a mathematical sample, but few are able to change the mind of the athletes. This is the more difficult thing.