UK Athletics chief Black quits after Salazar doping scandal
UK Athletics will be forced to look for a new chief just nine months out from the Olympics after Neil Black announced he would leave his position as performance director following criticism over the governing body’s chaotic handling of the Alberto Salazar scandal.
Black looked a broken man at the end of a disappointing World Championships in Qatar – where Britain claimed their lowest medal haul for 14 years – and suggested he would consider his role upon returning home on Monday.
“UK Athletics have announced that Neil Black will leave his role as performance director at the end of October,” a statement read.
“Neil will commence a detailed handover with performance staff until his departure and will fulfil his role supporting Mo Farah at this weekend’s Chicago marathon.”
The prospect of Black departing a role he has held since 2012 looked inevitable as soon as Salazar, who guided Farah to four Olympic and six world titles, was banned from athletics for four years after he was found guilty of multiple doping offences.
The ban imposed by the United States Anti-doping Agency came after a UK Athletics review into Salazar in 2015 had found “no reason to be concerned” about Farah’s coach and cleared the distance runner to continue working at his Nike Oregon Project. Salazar’s former assistant coach and whistle-blower, Steve Magness, called the review a “sham”.
Black had previously described Salazar as “a genius… one of the best people to work with that I have ever come across”, with the American employed as a consultant to the governing body’s endurance programme in 2013.
Senior figures in the sport had questioned whether Black’s relationship with the American coach was too close and, coupled with a British haul of just five medals in Doha, his position appeared to have become untenable.
His departure continues a period of leadership crisis at UK Athletics, which must now find someone to fill arguably the most important role at the organisation less than a year out from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Much of this year has already been spent seeking candidates for the most senior roles in the organisation, after Niels de Vos announced he would step down as chief executive last September and Richard Bowker ended his short stint as chairman in January.
Former international distance runner Zara Hyde Peters was finally announced as chief executive in August, two months after Chris Clark was named chairman, and it is those two who will now have to rapidly lead a search for a successor to Black.
Stephen Maguire would be a popular choice among the sprinting contingent, having overseen a total turnaround in Britain’s relay set-up in recent years. He combines his role in charge of the sprints and relay programme with his position as Scottish Athletics’ director of performance and coaching. Former sprinter Christian Malcolm, former track cyclist Steve Paulding and former international sprinter Paula Dunn would also be in the running.