Runner claims abuse by Nike

Nike has vowed to investigate claims by a former middle-distance runner who said she was subjected to physical and mental abuse while training with the sportswear giant’s now-shuttered Oregon Project.

Mary Cain published an opinion piece in the New York Times on Thursday saying coaches pressured her to become “thinner and thinner,” which ultimately caused her to stop menstruating, break five bones and become suicidal.

“We take the allegations extremely seriously and will launch an immediate investigation to hear from former Oregon Project athletes,” the company said. “At Nike we seek to always put the athlete at the center of everything we do, and these allegations are inconsistent with our values.”

The Oregon Project was created in 2001 for elite runners, serving as a base for the likes of Galen Rupp and Mo Farah. It was controversial almost from the start and came under increased scrutiny as team members alleged wrongdoing.

This fall, coach Alberto Salazar was banned four years for trafficking testosterone and other antidoping violations. Cain joined the program in 2013 as a heralded teenager, but left in 2015.

In its statement, Nike said she had never before raised concerns and “was seeking to rejoin the Oregon Project and Alberto’s team as recently as April of this year.”

The program was shut down soon after the sanctions against Salazar.

Nearly two years after disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar was sent to prison for abusing young athletes, the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee is still wrestling with the fallout, announcing the first installment in a series of “sweeping” reforms.

USOPC executives said Friday they will give athletes more say on their board of directors and increase oversight of the national governing bodies that manage each sport.

“These reforms are a significant first step of many, in our ongoing efforts to ensure our athletes are at the heart of what we do we and who we are going forward,” chief executive Sarah Hirshland said. “We have taken action and will continue to take action.”