Mo Farah faces new drug row as mentor Alberto Salazar is at the centre of further allegations in leaked report

  • A leaked report has once again accused Mo Farah's coach of doping violations
  • Fancy Bears hackers stole the US Anti-Doping Agency report and leaked it 
  • Alberto Salazar accused of issuing 'potentially harmful' prescription medicines
  • It says Salazar and athletes used banned method of infusing legal supplement
  • Farah has issued a statement, once again strongly denying any allegations
  • Salazar also responded, insisting he finds allegations against him 'disturbing'

Mo Farah said he was 'annoyed' at being dragged into fresh doping allegations surrounding his American coach, Alberto Salazar.

Britain's four-time Olympic gold medal-winning runner, recently knighted, insists that he is a 'clean athlete'.

But the new allegations, based on an official anti-doping report hacked by Russian group Fancy Bears and then leaked to The Sunday Times, renew questions over whether controversial and ethically dubious use of prescription drugs may have endangered Farah's health.

Sir Mo Farah, pictured with coach Alberto Salazar (centre) and Galen Rupp at London 2012

Sir Mo Farah, pictured with coach Alberto Salazar (centre) and Galen Rupp at London 2012

The leaked US Anti-Doping Agency report says Salazar 'almost certainly' broke anti-doping rules. Salazar issued a statement last night denying any wrongdoing.


The report says the American 'almost certainly' broke anti-doping rules when he gave L-carnitine infusions to some of his athletes at the Nike Oregon Project, where Farah trains.

Within the same report are details of prescription medicines given by Salazar to Farah and the fact that 'concerns' were raised by a doctor assigned by British athletics chiefs to look after their star distance-runner.

In July 2011 Dr John Rogers sent an email to the three senior medics at UKA explaining Salazar was giving Farah drugs that were actually posing a danger to his health. In particular, calcitonin and high dosages of vitamin D.

In the email, extracts of which Sportsmail now has detailed knowledge, Rogers explains that Salazar was unaware of a medical condition that meant calcitonin and high Vitamin D use posed a significant risk to Farah. Indeed, Rogers reported to his medical colleagues that he had told Farah and Salazar to stop using the medication.  

A leaked report says Farah may have been put at risk by 'potentially harmful mediation'

A leaked report says Farah may have been put at risk by 'potentially harmful mediation'

But the US Anti-Doping Agency report notes that Farah continued to use calcitonin until November that year, after the World Championships in Daegu that represented the British runner's major breakthrough on the global stage.

Insiders at UKA insist Rogers's email did not have the tone of a doctor raising the alarm, and it is true it does conclude with the sports physician praising Salazar for his transparency during a training camp in the French Pyrenees — one that was attended by Farah's former training partner, Galen Rupp — and his unusually extensive medical knowledge.

But in an interview given under oath to US anti-doping investigators, the details of which are contained in the same leaked report, Rogers explained that Salazar's use of 'off-label and unconventional' prescription medicines had given him such 'concern' that he sent the email.

The USADA report concludes Salazar was endangering the health of athletes like Farah by the mere fact the medical advice given by Rogers, with regard to at least one of the drugs, was initially ignored.

On Sunday Farah issued a statement saying he found it 'deeply frustrating' he was having to defend himself. 'I am a clean athlete who has never broken the rules in regards to substances, methods or dosages and it is upsetting some parts of the media, despite the clear facts, continue to try to associate me with allegations of drug misuse,' he wrote.

Salazar, Farah and other Nike Oregon Project athletes have consistently denied wrongdoing

Salazar, Farah and other Nike Oregon Project athletes have consistently denied wrongdoing

STATEMENT ISSUED BY USADA

USADA can confirm that it has prepared a report in response to a subpoena from a state medical licensing body regarding care given by a phyisician to athletes associated with the Nike Oregon Project.

It appears that a draft of this report was leaked to the Sunday Times by the Russian state-affiliated hacker group known as Fancy Bears. We understand that the licensing body is still deciding its case and as we continue to investigate whether anti-doping rules were broken, no further comment will be made at this time.

Importantly, all athletes, coaches and others under the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Code are innocent and presumed to have complied with the rules unless and until the established anti-doping process declares otherwise. It is grossly unfair and reckless to state, infer or imply differently.

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'If USADA or any other anti-doping body has evidence of wrong-doing they should publish it and take action rather than allow the media to be judge and jury.' But at no point did Farah's carefully worded, if ill-advised, statement respond to the allegations made against Salazar, nor the fact that the report contains alarming revelations about Farah himself.

Salazar's statement read: 'The Sunday Times has simply recycled old allegations that have been refuted almost two years ago.

'I have clearly and repeatedly refuted allegations directed against me and the Oregon Project. I believe in a clean sport and a methodical, dedicated, approach to training. L-carnitine is a widely available, legal supplement that is not banned by WADA. Any use of L-carnitine was done so within WADA guidelines.

'The leaking of information and the litigation of false allegations in the press is disturbing, desperate and a denial of due process.

'I look forward to this unfair and protracted process reaching the conclusion I know to be true.'  

Salazar (C) hugs Farah (R) and USA athlete Galen Rupp at the 2011 World Championships

Salazar (C) hugs Farah (R) and USA athlete Galen Rupp at the 2011 World Championships

A further USADA investigation, prompted in 2015 by a BBC Panorama programme on Salazar, is ongoing, Questions remain for Farah, Salazar and UKA, and why they have said they have no concerns about the relationship between the British track star and the American when at one stage he was being given medicines he not only had no medical need for but were not good for him.

Neil Black, who worked first as UKA's chief physiotherapist before becoming performance director, has been consistent in defending the governing body's association with Salazar, whom he has called a 'genius', and an internal report in the wake of the Panorama programme found no reason to be concerned by the relationship between Farah and his mentor.

UKA have a close relationship with Salazar and Nike, who remain their chief kit sponsor. But some staff have become concerned by the power wielded by Salazar within the organisation.  

Allegations against Salazar first surfaced during a BBC Panorama show in 2015

Allegations against Salazar first surfaced during a BBC Panorama show in 2015

A UKA statement said: 'UKA, including all our key medical staff, have fully co-operated with both UKAD and USADA as part of the investigation into the Nike Oregon Project. We remain, at all times, completely open.'

None of the issues detailed in the leaked report are addressed, however. UKA added: 'L-carnitine is a legal supplement that can be used by endurance athletes. Over the past few years a small number of British athletes have utilised it.'

Even so, the USADA report contains an email Salazar sent close friend Lance Armstrong after testing an illegal quantity of infused L-carnitine on one of his coaches. 'It's amazing,' he said. 'You are the only athlete I'm going to tell the actual numbers to other than Galen Rupp. It's too incredible.'

A former Nike Project therapist, Allan Kupczak, claims Salazar was alerted to the power of L-carnitine after learning it had 'significantly improved the performance of a prominent British cyclist'. 

THE FRESH TWISTS IN DOPING SCANDAL  

What is new?

A report by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) which suggested Mo Farah's coach Alberto Salazar might have broken anti-doping rules, has been leaked.

Who leaked the report?

Russian hackers Fancy Bears leaked documents to the Sunday Times. Fancy Bears are the same group who leaked the medical records of Sir Bradley Wiggins and other Olympians last year.

What does the report say?

The March 2016 report claimed to have 'substantial and compelling evidence' that Salazar and the Nike Oregon Project team doctor, Jeffrey Brown, 'conspired to collude together' to use medications in 'sometimes potentially unlawful' ways.

What is Nike Oregon Project?

Created in 2011 to promote American distance-running, it is funded by the sportswear firm and its premises are at the company headquarters in Oregon. Salazar was appointed head coach and recruited many of the country's best distance-runners, including Kara Goucher and Galen Rupp, who later became Mo Farah's training partner.

What else is in the report?

They carried out an experiment on Steve Magness, a former Nike coach, using an infusion of amino acid L-carnitine to test its performance enhancing effects.

What is L-carnitine and is it banned?

It is a naturally occurring amino acid derivative that's often taken as a weight loss supplement. It is legal unless administered intravenously in a quantity of more than 50ml in a six-hour period. The test done on Magness involved an estimated 1-litre in four hours.

How does this affect Farah?

There is no evidence to suggest any wrong-doing by the Briton, but he is likely to face more pressure to part company with Salazar. 

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