Sir Mo Farah’s former coach Alberto Salazar banned from athletics over anti-doping violations

Shamed coach Salazar worked with four-time Olympic champion Farah from 2011 to 2017

Sir Mo Farah's former coach has been banned from athletics for four years for multiple anti-doping violations, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) has said.

American Alberto Salazar, 61, was sanctioned along with endocrinologist Jeffrey Brown for "orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct" while working with the Nike Oregon Project (NOP), USADA said.

Salazar's violations included "administration of a prohibited method", tampering or attempted tampering with athletes' doping control processes and trafficking or attempted trafficking of testosterone.

The NOP was home to four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo from 2011 to 2017.

USADA chief executive officer Travis T Tygart: "The athletes in these cases found the courage to speak out and ultimately exposed the truth.

Alberto Salazar with Galen Rupp (L) and Sir Mo Farah (Getty)

"While acting in connection with the Nike Oregon Project, Mr Salazar and Dr Brown demonstrated that winning was more important than the health and wellbeing of the athletes they were sworn to protect."

Brown was found to have tampered with records, administered an "over-limit" infusion and to have been complicit in Salazar's trafficking of testosterone.

Salazar moved into coaching after a successful distance running career in which he thrice won the New York Marathon and claimed victory once in the Boston Marathon in the early 1980s.