LONDON — Double Olympic champion Mo Farah will continue working with Alberto Salazar, saying Friday he was satisfied with the response given by the American long-distance running coach to accusations of doping.
“As someone I’ve worked with for many years, I feel I have to believe in Alberto and the evidence he has provided,” Farah said on his Facebook page.
Salazar issued a 12,000-word rebuttal of claims against himself and his other star runner, Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp, in an open letter on the website of the Nike Oregon Project on Wednesday.
Salazar, one of the world’s top track coaches, has been accused by American investigative website ProPublica and the BBC of using doping practices for his athletes in Oregon.
“Although it’s been a difficult time,” Farah said, “I asked Alberto to respond to the allegations made against him and he has now done so in full.”
Farah, the world and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000-meter champion, added that he now wants to “focus on what I do best — training hard to win medals for my country.”
Investigations by ProPublica and BBC this month contained allegations from Salazar’s former assistant, Steve Magness, and former runner Kara Goucher that the coach circumvented doping rules.
Salazar’s response on the eve of the U.S. national trials was detailed, disputing every allegation. In the case of Rupp and his history with both thyroid disease and asthma, Salazar said Rupp properly received exemptions for medications to treat both conditions.
Salazar said in the open letter that the Oregon Project he leads “will never permit doping.”
Rupp said after winning the 10,000 title at the U.S. championships on Thursday that he will stand behind Salazar “100 percent” and that he was “thrilled” with Salazar’s statement.
Farah will run in the 5,000 at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on July 9, in what will be his first competition since the doping allegations against Salazar that have triggered investigations by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and UK Athletics.
In Farah’s last race in May, a 10,000 at the Prefontaine Classic where Salazar coaches at Eugene, Oregon, he ran a world-leading 26 minutes, 50.97 seconds.
