UK Athletics chairman Ed Warner says the national governing body is set to do its own investigation looking at the double Olympic champion’s medical data following the doping allegations against his coach Alberto Salazar
Mo Farah’s medical data is set to be analysed by UK Athletics (UKA), the national governing body’s chairman Ed Warner has said.
The decision to look at the double Olympic, world and European track champion’s data comes after his coach, Alberto Salazar, was last week accused of violating anti-doping rules following a BBC investigation.
Salazar denies any wrongdoing, while there is no suggestion that Farah (pictured above with UKA’s performance director Neil Black and chief executive Niels de Vos) has violated any rules.
While explaining that an investigation into some of the specific claims, including that Salazar was involved in doping US 10,000m record-holder Galen Rupp, is down to the US Anti-Doping Agency, Warner told Radio 4’s Today programme that what UKA can do is look at Farah’s medical data.
“What we can look at is all the data surrounding our own athlete, Mo Farah. Blood data, supplements data – everything surrounding his medical treatment,” Warner said to the BBC.
“We’re in charge of that. We run that from the UK, through Neil Black our performance director and Barry Fudge, who is our endurance expert.
“We already have all the data but we need to make sure there’s nothing else there that we haven’t seen, we’re not aware of, hasn’t been analysed.”
He continued: “It may well be that the outcome of our own investigation says there’s nothing untoward been going on as far as we can uncover in any way, shape or form around British Athletics and a British athlete. We might reach a conclusion based on that analysis.
“If, subsequently, the coach himself is proven to be guilty of doping offences, then there’s a second stage there and a decision would need to be taken.”
As well as being head coach of the Nike Oregon Project, with Farah part of the American’s stable based in Portland, Oregon, Salazar is also an unpaid consultant to UKA’s endurance programme.
On Saturday UKA released a statement which read in part: “Whilst acknowledging the gravity of the allegations, UK Athletics can confirm it has had absolutely no concerns over the conduct and coaching methods of Alberto Salazar in relation to Mo Farah or in his role as an endurance consultant.
“As an organisation with a proven anti-doping commitment, we view the allegations made in regard of non-British athletes who have been coached by Alberto Salazar with utmost seriousness.
“It is the role of the appropriate independent anti-doping agencies to investigate these further.”
The statement continued to confirm that a “focussed review” of the performance management system surrounding Farah and the endurance programme would be undertaken.
On Monday, Warner continued to tell the BBC: “Now, one of the possible outcomes of all of this is, even though – and I’m sure that’s probably going to be the case – there’s nothing untoward been proven around Mo Farah and British Athletics, we might still recommend to Mo and might still decide ourselves to suspend our relationship because of the reputational damage that could be caused.
He added: “It’s going to take time, but not a lot of time, I hope. I would think weeks, not months. I’ve been very vocal in saying, ‘these things must be conducted more swiftly’, because fans turn up at events watching athletes and they need to watch a sport with integrity.
“We need to make sure, going right back to our own review, that absolutely everything that is done in British Athletics, with that project, with our athletes, is on the right side of the line. I believe it is but I want independent evidence of that.”
