Farah wishes he had known earlier that Salazar faced ban

FILE PHOTO: Athletics - London Marathon Preview Press Conference - The Tower Hotel, London, Britain - April 24, 2019 Great Britain's Mo Farah during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

Olympic champion Mo Farah said on Thursday he would have been "the first one out" had he known that his former coach Alberto Salazar faced a ban from athletics for doping violations.

American Salazar stopped coaching Farah, double Olympic champion at both 5,000 and 10,000 metres, in 2017 when the runner decided to move back to England from the United States.

The Briton had said at the time that the doping investigation was not the reason they parted ways.

FILE PHOTO: Athletics - Chicago Marathon - Chicago, Illinois, United States - October 13, 2019 Britain's Mo Farah in action during the men's marathon REUTERS/Mike Segar

"Had I had known the news, what Salazar did, it's taken four years, had I known that sooner I would have been the first one out," the athlete, who has never failed a drugs test and not being accused of any wrongdoing, told the BBC.

"That's the bit that's kind of annoying, I wish I'd known quicker."

Salazar has denied wrongdoing and has appealed against his four-year ban.

Farah announced in November that he was returning to the track to chase more gold in the 10,000m at this year's Tokyo Olympics.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)