Shortly after revelations first surfaced about Alberto Salazar being investigated by the US Anti-Doping Agency in 2015, I asked a UK Athletics contact whether they feared reputational damage if he was ever convicted. “Of course,” came the reply. “But we’ve gone all in on Alberto and Nike.” Long past the witching hour in Doha on Monday night, that decision came back to haunt them. And with the legendary American coach now banned for four years for “orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct”, UKA now looks desperately short of chips.
After all it was Neil Black, UKA’s performance director, who used to travel at least six times a year to the Nike Oregon Project to visit Salazar, who he hailed as a “genius”, yet kept trusting him even after damaging accusations were made in a BBC Panorama programme in 2015.
Related: Mo Farah's former coach Alberto Salazar gets four-year ban for doping violations
Alberto Salazar The legendary coach is flying home from Doha after his ban. Has vowed to clear his name, saying he has “endured unjust, unethical and highly damaging treatment from Usada”.
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