MPs quiz medic on Farah infusion
MEMBERS of Parliament will today question UK Athletics doctors and officials about a controversial infusion given to Sir Mo Farah ahead of the 2014 London Marathon. A parliamentary committee is expected to seek an explanation as to why the procedure was not ‘centrally logged’ on the UKA medical system. The infusion of L-carnitine was given to Farah by Dr Rob Chakraverty, who is now the England football team doctor and will be among those giving evidence at Westminster this afternoon. A failure to keep proper records for athletes under the supervision of Alberto Salazar, such as Farah, has been a common theme, according to the US Anti-Doping Agency.
Many of the infusions given to Salazar’s athletes were administered by Dr Jeffrey Brown, and the interim USADA report leaked by the Fancy Bears hacking group states that as yet the agency has found no evidence of Farah being among those given L-carnitine by the Texas-based physician.
But a section of the report highlights a ‘common denominator’ in the records of infusions of the supplement that echo the issue surrounding Farah’s infusion, even though UKA insist there is a ‘comprehensive record’ of his 2014 case, albeit in the form of emails.
USADA state that it is ‘truly shocking’ that the amount of L-carnitine given to Salazar’s athletes has not been logged, which is a concern as the agency believe the American coach at the centre of an investigation ‘almost certainly’ broke anti-doping rules in the administration of the infusions. While L- carnitine is not a banned substance, infusions of more than 50ml in the space of six hours are prohibited.
Within the leaked 260-page USADA report that was sent to the Texas medical board there is a section that highlights the ‘lack of record of the amount of L-carnitine infused’.
In the same document Salazar tells his friend, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, of its ‘incredible’ performing- enhancing qualities. ‘It’s amazing,’ declares Salazar. However the report notes that Salazar concludes infusions of 50ml or less are essentially pointless.