Former Australian Olympian Raelene Boyle says she is disappointed in the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) handling of the East German doping scandal, which robbed her of a gold medal.

Key points: Ms Boyle was beaten in 1972 by an East German who had cheated as part of a widespread doping scandal

Ms Boyle was beaten in 1972 by an East German who had cheated as part of a widespread doping scandal Over 10,000 athletes from former East Germany were involved in state-sponsored cheating

Over 10,000 athletes from former East Germany were involved in state-sponsored cheating The IOC president said the committee's eight-year statute of limitation prevented redress for athletes affected

The three-time silver medallist took aim at the IOC in front of its president, Thomas Bach, during her acceptance speech for the Australian Olympic Committee's (AOC)'s Order of Merit award at an event in Sydney on Saturday morning.

Two of Ms Boyle's silver medals came after she was beaten by East German Renate Stecher in 1972, who was later revealed to have been on anabolic steroids under a state-sponsored doping regime.

Ms Boyle said she felt let down by the IOC and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and felt sad to have competed at a time when "drugs were a major influence".

"I do get a little disappointed though," Ms Boyle told the Australian Olympic Committee's (AOC) annual general meeting.

"There are a lot of people out there that really deserve medals they didn't get.

"They should all be redressed — the whole East German thing needs to be redressed."

She turned to Mr Bach, who was visiting the AOC event for the first time, and addressed him directly.

"I do in many ways feel let down by both the IOC and WADA," she said.

"You go to the museum in Berlin and you can pull out drawers and see what those women were taking to make them run so fast."

Betty Cuthbert (L) and Ms Boyle at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony. ( Reuters: Peter Mueller )

There were an estimated 10,000 athletes from the former East Germany involved in the regime, which began in the early 1970s.

A secret government bill was passed which stated doping substances were an integral part of athlete training and the doping was to be taught to coaches and doctors.

After the press conference, Mr Bach said there would be no redress for athletes who missed out on medals due to the IOC's statute of limitation.

The committee's regulations specified sanctions must be commenced within eight years of an alleged doping offence.

"[It's] a very difficult issue," Mr Bach said.

"I must say the statute unfortunately prevents the IOC from making any corrections in this respect."

Ms Boyle has won seven Commonwealth gold medals and two Commonwealth silver medals and was inducted into the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame in 2017.