Mo Farah is to be investigated amid the "doping allegations surrounding his long-term coach Alberto Salazar," according to Simon Rice of the London INDEPENDENT. UK Athletics Chair Ed Warner has said that the medical data of the double-Olympic gold winner "will be assessed as part of the case against Salazar, which was sparked by a BBC investigation." Warner has also advised Farah to "suspend his relationship with the Cuban-born coach -- something the long-distance runner has so far seemed reluctant to do" (INDEPENDENT, 6/8). In London, Josh Burrows reported Salazar, head coach at the "prestigious" Nike Oregon Project in Portland, was
last week accused in a BBC Panorama documentary of "being involved in doping
along with Galen Rupp, Farah's American training partner." Both deny the
allegations.
Warner: "What we can look at is all the data surrounding our own athlete, Mo Farah:
blood data, supplements data -- everything surrounding his medical
treatment. We're in charge of that." The investigation outlined on Monday by Warner represents a "change of tone" from UK Athletics, after CEO Niels de Vos insisted over the
weekend that Salazar "still has the governing body's backing and is not
himself under an internal investigation." De Vos said, "We are not looking into Alberto Salazar" (LONDON TIMES, 6/8). In London, Matt Dickinson reported British Olympic Association Chair Sebastian Coe expects his "good friend" Salazar to "mount a stout defence against doping allegations." Coe made a "surprising intervention when he said that he rated Salazar as a top-class and 'fastidious' athletics coach." Coe, who said that he had not seen the program but had "read a
transcript while travelling back from an athletics congress in China,
added that it was up to Salazar to defend himself, but gave a positive
reference" about the American's methods. Coe: "I have known Alberto 35
years. He's a good friend of mine. What I do know about
Alberto is that he is a first-class coach. Fastidious, an eye for
detail, margins matter to him" (LONDON TIMES, 6/8).
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Also in London, Ben Bloom reported Farah knew that Salazar had been accused of drugs
offenses "almost one month before the claims were made public." Farah said that he was "not going to sever ties with Salazar, although he insisted
that he would seek assurances" from the American that he was not guilty
of the offenses of which he is accused. He said, "I need to know what's going on. If they turn out to be
true, and Alberto has crossed the line, I'm the first person to leave." Farah "appeared to say" that he found out about the allegations only "three to four days" before
the airing of the documentary. While not being
told "full details" of specific allegations, Farah reportedly was informed that
Salazar may have committed doping offenses when he was sent a letter
"four weeks before the programme aired" (TELEGRAPH, 6/7).
SEEKING ANSWERS: Also in London, Ron Lewis reported Farah flew back to the U.S. to "confront" Salazar. The appearance of Farah at a press conference alongside de Vos and
UK Athletics Performance Dir Neil Black was an "attempt to move on, but by declining to suspend his
association with Salazar, even in the short term, Farah ensured that the controversy will not go away any time soon." During the press conference, Farah's position "moved from sticking by his coach
to a demand to get answers from him." Farah was "keen to show himself as the
victim," accusing the media of "ruining" his reputation (LONDON TIMES, 6/8).
