UK Athletics has found no evidence of wrongdoing by Mo Farah in the initial findings of its investigation into allegations of doping against his coach, Alberto Salazar.
The governing body also said its investigation had not given it “any reason to question the appropriateness of the input” given by the Nike Oregon Project to the double Olympic champion’s training regime.
UKA launched a review following allegations in a BBC Panorama programme shown in June that Salazar, the head coach at the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, where Farah trains, had violated several anti-doping rules. Salazar, who is an “unpaid consultant” for UKA, has strenuously denied all the accusations against him. Farah, who was not accused of any wrongdoing in the BBC documentary, has vowed to stick by his coach unless any allegations are proven.
UKA launched a review into the American’s relationship with the governing body and Farah, which was undertaken by its three-person Performance Oversight Group (POG) comprising the former athletes Jason Gardener, Dr Sarah Rowell and Anne Wafula-Strike.
A statement from UKA said: “With reference to the first and most vital objective of the review, the board can confirm that none of the extensive information supplied to the POG contained any evidence of impropriety on the part of Mo Farah, nor gave UK Athletics any reason to question the appropriateness of the input given by the Oregon Project to Mo Farah’s training regime.”
Farah was questioned by the United States Anti-Doping Agency in a routine meeting at a central London hotel on Saturday, a day after he received a warm reception on a winning return to the Olympic Stadium for the Anniversary Games.
UKA said the formal investigations by Usada and UK Anti-Doping into the allegations against Salazar meant the findings from its own review “will now need to be shared with UKAD, at their request, prior to any wider circulation”.
It said that its board therefore does not expect to make a public announcement on its full findings until after the world championships in Beijing, which finish on 30 August.
UKA added it “continues to take the issue of doping violations in sport extremely seriously and will assist UKAD and other relevant authorities in their important work whenever required”.
Farah is currently training at his base in Font Romeu in the Pyrenees as he gears up for the defence of the 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Beijing. The initial findings will come as a welcome boost for the 32-year-old, whose performances on the track, amid a tumultuous summer off it, have been impressive.
In Beijing he will be aiming to become the first man to complete the long-distance double at two world championships. “I have never taken performance-enhancing drugs in my life and I never will,” stated Farah earlier this month. “Over the course of my career I have taken hundreds of drugs tests and every single one has been negative.
