Athletics news - I haven't actually read Salazar report, admits athletics chief Sebastian Coe
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Updated 07/10/2019 at 13:27 GMT
Sebastian Coe says he has yet to read the full report that saw Mo Farah's former coach Alberto Salazar banned for four years last week - despite making a series of impassioned statements on the matter.
DOHA, QATAR - OCTOBER 06: IAAF President Lord Sebastian Coe speaks during a press conference on day ten of 17th IAAF World Athletics Championships Doha 2019 at Khalifa International Stadium on October 06, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Alexander Hassenste
Image credit: Getty Images
Salazar, a three-time marathon winner in New York, has worked with a range of Olympic athletes including Farah and training partner Galen Rupp as part of his Nike-sponsored Oregon project.
However, a lengthy investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency concluded last week that Salazar was "orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct".
Coe, who became president of the International Association of Athletics Federations back in 2015, was repeatedly quizzed over the suspension during the World Athletics Championships that concluded last night in Doha and has hit out critics of the sport.
But he has also admitted to having only read a summary of the report, rather than studying the detail.
I haven’t actually read the report," Coe said.
"I’ve read the executive summary, which took me through what was actually said.
"That was enough for me to get into business mode, which was to make sure that athletes don’t have a relationship with a suspended coach.”
Before the admission, Coe had criticised those who claimed athletics was riddled with conflicts of interest, such as Nike ambassador Paula Radcliffe calling into question USADA's motives in pursuing Salazar so vehemently.
One of Salazar's charges Sifan Hassan became the first athlete in history to do the 1,500m-10,000m double at the Worlds and beaten Brit Laura Muir admitted the developments of the week would always put 'a cloud' over that achievement, something Coe railed against.
“Sadly it is the world we live in," Coe added.
"It is inevitable that outstanding performances, given the broader nature of trust, are permanently questioned.
"I’m sure that when I was breaking three world records in 41 days back in 1979 there were people looking slightly askance at what I did.”
Two-time Olympic 1500m champion Coe also slammed BBC presenter Gabby Logan for her scrutiny of the choice of Doha as the host for the Worlds after disappointing crowd numbers for all but the showpiece events.
"It’s very easy to sit there and make all sorts of Gabby Logan-type judgments over three or four days and clear off back to Match of the Day,” said Coe.
"But it’s really important that we see the long-term development of our sport.
“That’s not going to be done because we have challenges over ticketing in a stadium for three days.
"The problem I’ve got with that is it’s the way our sport is being portrayed by some of the people in that studio.”
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