IOC calls for investigation into all Alberto Salazar’s athletes
Thomas Bach, the International Olympic Committee president, says he has contacted the World Anti-Doping Agency asking it to investigate all athletes who trained with the banned coach Alberto Salazar.
Salazar, who coached Britain’s Mo Farah for six years, was this week found guilty of “orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct” while at the Nike Oregon Project.
Speaking on Thursday at a news conference, Bach said the case was “very worrying and raises serious concerns”, and that he would be asking Wada to take a closer look.
Sebastian Coe, president of the International Association of Athletics Federation, warned that any athlete who tries to stay secretly with Salazar would face a two-year ban themselves.
On what he will be asking Wada, Bach said: “To see how many athletes have been investigated. Have all the athletes been investigated who have been training in this centre? Does the report address the whole period of the existence of this project or only part of it? Could any Olympic results directly or indirectly be affected?
“We learned from the report that the athletes would not have known what happened to them – this is an important factor when looking at sanctions but disqualification is mandatory whether the athlete knows or not.”
In a statement, Wada said it could not comment publicly until it had reviewed the case in full. Salazar has said he will appeal against the judgment. This week Farah, who has never failed a drugs test, said he had “no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules or crosses a line”.
Meanwhile Coe has vowed to clamp down on athletes using prescription medicines for performance enhancement in the wake of Usada’s investigation into Salazar – including the use of asthma and thyroid medication. The use of such medication is not illegal under the World Anti-Doping Code, but many in the sport believe using drugs such as thyroxin is unethical because it could damage an athlete’s health.
On Wednesday one leading coach asked UK Athletics to set up an inquiry into whether Salazar’s methods were ever used by British coaches and athletes. Coe admitted the issue was also a concern for him.
“We are looking into this,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure that medical conditions are genuine – and that prescription-only drugs are not aiding human performance. However when it comes to therapeutic use exemptions, they have already been tightened up dramatically since when I first came on to the IAAF’s council. I think we were
in the thousands for TUEs. Now it is literally a handful in real terms. So we’re much tougher about that sort of stuff.”
Coe was also asked about comments made by the US 1500m legend Jenny Simpson, who said on Wednesday that a “black cloud” had hung over Salazar’s training group.
“Jenny’s a very thoughtful athlete,” said Coe. The only point I would make is that if athletes feel that they’ve got something to tell us, they really must. Because they are the prime source of intelligence.”
Coe also denied taking a swipe at the BBC and its presenter Gabby Logan, who was seen laughing when the pundit Michael Johnson told her off camera that the IAAF president was “full of shit”.
“The BBC is a great broadcaster,” Coe said. “It’s got a fabulous history with our sport. I just made an observation about the comparison between what is easily concluded in a studio over a few days, and the bigger picture that I have to be thinking about.”