Alberto Salazar: Top athletics coach banned for four years for doping violations
[su_label type=”info”]SMA News – Agencies[/su_label][su_spacer size=”10″] [su_dropcap]H[/su_dropcap] igh-profile athletics coach Alberto Salazar has been banned for four years for “multiple anti-doping rule violations.”
The American is head coach of the Nike Oregon Project (NOP), the prolific long-distance running group that has produced some of the world’s best athletes, including four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah, who Salazar coached between 2011 and 2017.
Salazar, 61, and Jeffrey Brown, a consultant doctor for the NOP, were ruled to have trafficked testosterone, tampered with the doping control process, and administered a banned intravenous infusion.
He was suspended by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after a four-year investigation.
“The athletes in these cases found the courage to speak out and ultimately exposed the truth,” said USADA boss Travis Tygart.
“While acting in connection with the Nike Oregon Project, Mr. Salazar and Dr. Brown demonstrated that winning was more important than the health and well being of the athletes they were sworn to protect.”
Two independent panels said that the pair had also repeatedly exchanged information about athletes’ performance and medical conditions “without any apparent formal authorization by the athletes.”
