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It has been claimed Mo Farah missed two drugs tests in
the build up to London 2012
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Double Olympic champion Mo Farah missed two drugs tests in
the build up to the 2012 Games, it has been reported. The Daily Mail claimed
Farah, who won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres in London, missed his first
test early in 2010 with another the following year. A third missed appointment
could have resulted in a four-year ban.
Press Association reports
the 32-year-old is currently in the spotlight in the wake of doping allegations
made by the BBC's Panorama programme against his coach Alberto Salazar and
training partner Galen Rupp.
Press Association report continues:
Both men have denied the
claims. The documentary made no suggestion that middle distance runner Farah
has been involved in doping.
The first missed test
took place before Farah was working with Salazar with the second allegedly
being in February 2011, after the double world champion became part of the Nike
Oregon Project in Portland, according to the Daily Mail.
Farah claimed he did not
hear the doorbell when missing his second test and that his agent Ricky Simms
submitted video evidence to back up that defence, the newspaper reported.
Salazar is then quoted as
telling Farah in May 2011: "If you miss another test, they will hang
you."
The report then publishes
e-mails apparently exchanged between UK Anti-Doping's lawyers and Farah's
representatives in which the lawyers say: "Intent and negligence are not
the same thing, though, as I am sure you have advised him.
"The simple fact
with this Missed Test is that your client says that he did not intend to miss
the test, but it is clearly his own fault that he did."
Farah announced on
Wednesday he would return to the track for the first time since the doping
allegations against Salazar emerged at the Monaco Diamond League meeting on
July 17.
He pulled out of the
Sainsbury's Birmingham Grand Prix earlier this month, stating he was
"physically and emotionally drained" by the affair.
Rather than racing in
Birmingham, the 32-year-old jetted back to his Portland home to seek answers
from Salazar.
On Wednesday he was back
on the other side of the Atlantic, posting on Twitter a picture of himself
training in France.
He said: "Good to be
out on the track in France today, getting ready for my next race in Monaco!!
Focusing on my training!!!!"
A week after competing at
the Herculis meeting in Monaco, Farah is due to race at the Sainsbury's
Anniversary Games at the Olympic Stadium.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD)
refused to comment on allegations of the missed drugs tests, saying: " UK
Anti-Doping does not disclose personal data relating to an individual's test
history.
"UKAD has a
dedicated Athlete Support Officer who works with athletes on the National
Registered Testing Pool, and with National Governing Bodies of sport, to ensure
they manage their whereabouts reporting responsibilities."
Its legal team is
understood to be investigating how the email from its lawyers got into the
public domain.
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