The Russian doping scandal has reached Boston. New revelations about efforts to hide doping by Russian athletes involve 2007 Boston Marathon champion Lidiya Grigoryeva. The IAAF, the international governing body for track and field, has pursued a case against her. An IAAF spokesman said her sanction “is about to be concluded and will be published accordingly.’’

Given the timeline of the revelations, it’s unclear how any sanctions would affect the result of the 2007 Boston Marathon women’s race.

“As the current investigation continues, we await the findings,’’ said Boston Athletic Association executive director Tom Grilk in a statement to the Globe. “The BAA has pushed for many years for increased testing in and out of competition and harsh sanctions against those who test positive for doping. We cooperate with and rely on the IAAF and WADA, which conduct the testing and impose sanctions.’’

As far back as 2009, the IAAF was aware of Russia’s massive doping problem, according to internal documents obtained by the Associated Press. IAAF correspondence shows that the governing body feared that athletes could kill themselves because of their extensive use of EPO and blood transfusions.

“This matter of the Russian athletes’ blood levels is now so serious and is not getting any better [in fact possibly getting worse] that immediate and drastic action is needed,’’ Pierre Weiss, then the IAAF general secretary, wrote in an Oct. 14, 2009, hand-delivered letter to Valentin Balakhnichev, the Russian athletics president banned last week for life from the track and field.

Weiss continued, “Not only are these athletes cheating their fellow competitors but at these levels are putting their health and even their own lives in very serious danger.’’

By 2011, there were so many suspected Russian cheaters that IAAF explored handling some cases privately. Two 2011 notes proposed a two-tiered approach to handling Russian athletes suspected of doping.

Track and field competitors in contention for medals at the 2012 London Olympics would be sanctioned according to IAAF and World Anti-Doping Agency rules. Meanwhile, there would be “rapid and discreet’’ discipline for lesser-known athletes.

The IAAF said nothing came of the proposals, and Balakhnichev told the AP that they never even reached him.

“There were no secret bans. At least I didn’t know and didn’t hear about there being any,’’ Balakhnichev said in a telephone interview with the AP.

“In 2011 there was a huge influx of suspicious profiles coming through,’’ IAAF spokesman Chris Turner said in a statement to the AP.

Since blood passport cases take, on average, 8-18 months from investigation to sanction, Turner added: “There was a need to prioritize, and in particular to expedite those cases which involved potential medal winners ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games. No cases were concealed or suppressed, the IAAF simply tackled them in order of importance.’’

One note named 10 athletes — racewalkers, middle-distance runners, and marathoners — who would be eligible for “rapid and discreet’’ treatment. Out of the 10, six were banned for two years, most after the London Games. Four others named in the 2011 note have not been banned.

That number includes Grigoryeva.

In a phone interview with the AP, Dick Pound, founding president of WADA , said documents that indicated IAAF officials considered not disclosing doping bans surprised him.

“Its clear that there were deals,’’ said Pound. “There didn’t seem to be any political will to take on Russia.’’