SALAZAR’S SON WAS COACHING IN LONDON
SIR Mo FARAH could have received guidance and support from Alberto Salazar’s son during the World Athletics Championships.
Sportsmail can reveal that Alex Salazar was in London as a member of the American team’s coaching staff.
Alberto Salazar decided to stay away from London to protect Farah’s reputation when the fourtime olympic champion was going to be the focus of so much attention. Salazar, after all, remains at the centre of a United States AntiDoping Agency investigation.
A conscious effort has certainly been made to put distance between Farah and Salazar, with the 34-year-old, his PR spin doctors and even British Athletics officials playing down the importancence of an American who trans-nsformed Farah from anan also-ran into the mostt successful distance runner in history.
on Sunday Farah was evasive when asked if he planned to remain with Salazarr when he retires from thehe track at the end of thishis season and moves up to the marathon.
He did, however, claim that Salazar’s involvement has been limited for the last ‘ three or four years’ despite the fact that he continues to compete under the Nike oregon Project banner and still lives with his family in Portland. He also publicly stood by Salazar two years ago when doping allegations first emerged as a result of an investigation by the BBC and ProPublica.
It has now emerged, however, that Salazar’s son was in London for the duration of the championships, with his attention extending beyond the Nike oregon Project athletes representing the US. on Sunday he was seen at the warmup track assisting Dutch distance runner Sifan Hassan, also a Nike oregon Project athlete.
It is unclear as to how much time, if any, Alex Salazar devoted to Farah — he has been receiving dayto- day support from a junior British Athletics coach after a falling- out with head of endurance Barry Fudge — but coaches from other nations were stunned to see him there when he too is a prominent figure in the anti- doping inquiry.
More than 20 former Nike oregon Project athletes, coaches and staff have gigiven evidence to USADA and one ex- coach, Steve Magness,Ma said Alex Salazarza was used in an experimenti to see how much testosteronet gel could be used before triggering a positive drugs test.t Two years ago Salazar admittedad using Alex and his brother Tony as guinea pigs in 2009 with a product called Androgel.
Salazar, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claimed it was a ‘sabotage test’ amid fears a physiotherapist accused by Justin Gatlin of rubbing testosterone gel into him — causing him to fail a second drugs test of his career — had come into contact with Farah’s training partner, Galen Rupp.
Magness dismissed the explanation as ‘ludicrous’ and a leaked USADA interim report contained evidence that Salazar’s athletes have been prescribed medication they had no medical need for, Farah among them.