Top coach Salazar barred from World Championships after doping ban

The World Athletics Championships were rocked by a drugs scandal on Tuesday after top coach Alberto Salazar was banned for doping, dealing a fresh body blow to the image of track and field at the sport's showpiece event.

Salazar, best known for coaching Britain's four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah, was handed a four-year ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a catalogue of drugs violations.

The 61-year-old Cuban-born American's suspension following a years-long investigation by USADA into the activities of his Nike-backed Oregon Project training group in Portland.

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Jeffrey Brown, a Texas endocrinologist who treated many of Salazar's athletes at the Oregon training hub, was also suspended for four years.

Salazar, who denied the allegations against him, was effectively kicked out of the World Championships on Tuesday after being stripped of his accreditation.

Two members of the Oregon Project have won gold medals at the championships, including American Donavan Brazier, who powered to victory in Tuesday's 800m final in a championship record time.

None of the athletes taking part at the world championships linked to Salazar have been found guilty of doping offences, and none were implicated in USADA's 134-page summary of the case.

The international Athletics Integrity Unit watchdog meanwhile notified athletes with links to Salazar to cease communication with the coach.

- Athletes praised -

In announcing the bans against Salazar and Brown, USADA praised other athletes for speaking out.

"The athletes in these cases found the courage to speak out and ultimately exposed the truth," said USADA chief executive Travis Tygart.

"While acting in connection with the Nike Oregon Project, Mr Salazar and Dr Brown demonstrated that winning was more important than the health and wellbeing of the athletes they were sworn to protect."

USADA said in the statement that two three-member arbitration panels had determined Salazar and Brown should be banned for "orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct."

Salazar was discovered to have trafficked or attempted to traffic the banned substance testosterone, given athletes a substance in excess of its permitted limit and tampered with the doping control process of athletes.

USADA said it had also found repeated occasions where Brown briefed Nike chief exectuive Mark Parker on the medical experiments being carried out by the Oregon Project to determine the effectiveness of performance-enhancing drugs.

"USADA's investigation yielded a wide range of evidence referenced in the hearing, including eye-witness proof, testimonies, contemporaneous emails, and patient records," USADA said.

- Salazar 'shocked' -

In a statement on the Oregon Project's website, Salazar, a former top marathon runner, denied ever doping his athletes and vowed to appeal.

"I am shocked by the outcome today," Salazar said. "Throughout this six-year investigation my athletes and I have endured unjust, unethical and highly damaging treatment from USADA." 

"The Oregon Project has never and will never permit doping."

Nike meanwhile vowed to back Salazar, saying the USADA sanction "had nothing to do with administering banned substances to any Oregon Project athlete."

"We support Alberto in his decision to appeal and wish him the full measure of due process that the rules require," a company statement said. 

"Nike does not condone the use of banned substances in any manner."

Arguably Salazar's greatest achievement was helping to transform British star Farah into a world-beating Olympic champion, winning back-to-back 5,000 metres and 10,000m titles at the 2012 and 2016 Games in London and Rio.

Farah left Salazar's camp in 2017 but denied the decision was related to accusations of doping at the Oregon Project.

The Briton has repeatedly denied any knowledge of Salazar's alleged involvement in doping offences.

On Tuesday, Farah said he was "relieved" that USADA had wrapped up its investigation.

"I left the Nike Oregon Project in 2017 but as I've always said, I have no tolerance for anyone who breaks the rules or crosses a line," he said.

The latest gold medal-winning talent from the Oregon Project stable, 800m champion, Brazier, told reporters Tuesday he was unaware of USADA's investigation into Salazar.

"I didn't know anything about it," Brazier said. "I just woke up to a text this morning and found out.

"I'm just very sad. I've had communication with Alberto, never trained by him, but he is a good guy, and seeing him getting kind of bad reputation, it hurt him a lot."