Mo Farah Insists he Will Split from Alberto Salazar if Doping Claims Proved

Mo Farah has said he will split from his coach, Alberto Salazar, if doping allegations against the American are proved. (Mo Farah's Coach Optimistic of Proving Doping Accusations Wrong)

Salazar is under investigation from the US Anti-Doping Agency and UK Anti-Doping after allegations he doped some of the athletes working with him at the Oregon Project, including Farah's training partner Galen Rupp.

Farah, who flew to the US to confront Salazar earlier in June, said in an interview with Sky Sports News he will stand by Salazar but would sever their relationship if he was found guilty of wrongdoing.

"If more people come out and it's proven that he's crossed the line, I'm out, trust me on this," Farah said. (Have Never Taken Drugs and Never Will: Mo Farah)

"I work hard every day and put my body through hell. Every year for seven months I'm away from family. I miss kids' birthdays and anniversaries and those are times I'll never be able to go back and share with them, and that really kills me, so to be labelled something you are not is not right. If I'm a cheat then prove it, if not then leave me alone - let me do what I do best, and that's to run, represent my country and make my country proud."

Asked whether it would be more expedient to cut ties with Salazar, who has now been the subject of allegations by as many as 19 current and former athletes and associates, Farah said: "These are just allegations, let's get it right. If these things are proven and Ukad and Usada find something wrong then I'm the first person to run [away], but you have to give people the chance in life. Someone who's helped you in your career and done so much for you, you have to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"I encourage anyone [speaking out] to go to the right people. Let's get to the bottom of this. It's killing me and my family. I'm not anything, trust me.

Farah described himself as "shocked" when he first heard the allegations against Salazar, and described how he decided to withdraw from the Diamond League race in Birmingham in order to hear his coach's version of events.

"I wanted to get the race out of the way, but the night before I remember being on the phone to Alberto and saying 'What's going on?' and him saying: 'These are just allegations, I can prove this to you, they're just allegations.'

"And I went: 'OK, I'll try to race.' But my head wasn't there. There was just so much. So I changed my flight, I went home. And I went to confront him and say: 'What's going on Alberto. You need to assure me.' He said to me: 'Look, I'm working on this, I'll come out and prove these are just allegations.' That's why it's taken me so long, because I wanted him to come out. These are allegations about him, not about me - so I wanted him to come out publicly and tell the people.

Salazar has published a 12,000-word open letter of denial and Farah said the need to assure people he has not taken a "short cut" felt particularly acute.

"I work so hard to do what I do and it's taken half of my life to achieve what I have," he said. "For people to think I've taken a short cut, it's not right. I want people to know I'm 100% clean. I love what I do and I want to continue to win medals but I want people to know I've never taken any drugs. The only drug I'm on is asthma [medication]. which I've been on since I was a child."

Farah came under scrutiny after it was revealed he missed two drugs tests in 2010 and 2011, the second on account of failing to hear the doorbell in his home.

"There are a lot of athletes who miss tests and they don't become public so why me?" he said. "I've taken 148 tests since 2007, 103 since 2012, and every one has been negative so I can't win.

"I didn't do it deliberately and I've taken all the tests as well. The last one I missed was 18 months before the Olympics, so it's not like I missed it just before the Olympics, and the other was in February 2010. As an athlete you have to take responsibility. Sometimes things that shouldn't happen, happen."