Sir Mo Farah says his decision to move back to London is for family reasons only and not because of the ongoing investigation of controversial coach Alberto Salazar by the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada).
The British athlete, who is a four-time Olympic gold medallist, has been coached by Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project since 2011. Salazar is currently under investigation by Usada after a BBC Panorama programme made allegations about drug use at the training camp.
After retiring from competing in track events and making the move to marathon running, Farah insists that he wants his children to grow up in the UK.
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He told The Sun: “I’m leaving simply because my family and I are moving back to London. We all loved spending our summer here and Tania and I realised how much we have missed spending time with our friends and family - and the kids are so happy here, too.
“We want the kids to grow up in the UK. It’s the right thing to do for my family. But both Nike Oregon Project and Alberto are based in the USA, so it just would not be possible to continue our relationship from London.”
When asked if the Usada investigation played any part in his decision, Farah, 34, said: “This situation has been going on for over two years, if I was going to leave because of that I would have done.
“As I’ve always said, I am firm believer in clean sport and I strongly believe that anyone who breaks the rules should be punished. If Alberto had crossed the line I would be out the door but Usada has not charged him with anything.”
With his training now geared solely towards marathons, Farah has announced he will be coached by Gary Lough - former coach and husband of Paula Radcliffe, the women’s marathon world record holder.
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