WASHINGTON: Nike said on Friday it plans to shut down its Oregon Project training group after top athletics coach Alberto Salazar was banned for four years for doping. Salazar, best known for coaching Britain’s four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah, was last week handed a four-year suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for a catalogue of drugs violations. The US sportswear giant had initially backed Salazar’s plans to appeal against the decision after the 61-year-old Cuban-born American denied the allegations. But in a memo to staff, Nike CEO Mark Parker said the project was being terminated because of the scandal. “I have therefore made the decision to wind down the Oregon Project.”Parker said however that Nike would still support Salazar in his appeal.

Source: New Strait Times October 11, 2019 08:48 UTC