FARAH REVEALS HIS DOPE TEST RESULTS
MO FARAH has released his blood-test data in an attempt to prove he is not a cheat, despite being warned against revealing the information. The double Olympic champion agreed to publish 20 blood-test results, from between June 2005 and May 2012, which are all within the normal range. Farah (above) went against the advice of British Athletics and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the sport’s governing bodies in the UK and internationally, by revealing the results. His ‘off-score’ figures are included among the 12,359 blood tests in the IAAF database passed by a whistleblower to The Sunday
Times and German broadcaster ARD/WDR in arguably the biggest leak in sporting history. Off-scores are one of the statistics used by experts to determine whether someone may be blood doping. ‘I’m happy to do what it takes to prove I’m a clean athlete,’ said Farah. ‘It’s sad that these allegations have been made at all because they bring down the sport I love. Most of the athletes don’t break the rules and work really hard to achieve what they do.’ Athletes were last week warned against publishing their results. British Athletics feared releasing selective data could be misinterpreted and may also imply those not publishing their data were ‘guilty by omission’. But a number of other top British athletes joined Farah in revealing their blood-test results and calling for greater transparency. They are Jo Pavey, Lisa Dobriskey, Jenny Meadows, Freya Murray, Hatti Archer, Emma Jackson and Andy Baddeley.
MARTHA KELNER