Galen Rupp has easily won his seventh straight 10,000-metre title at the US championships amid allegations that his coach Alberto Salazar encouraged him and others to skirt anti-doping rules.
"It's been hard. I'm not going to lie. It's been difficult to focus," Rupp said, after winning in 28 minutes 11.61 seconds.
"I believe in clean sport. I believe the truth will prevail."
Rupp found himself at the centre of a controversy after a story earlier this month contained allegations from former Salazar assistant Steve Magness and a former Salazar runner, Kara Goucher, that the coach circumvented the rules.
Salazar responded on the eve of the nationals by publishing a 12,000-word letter online disputing the allegations, saying he "will never permit doping."
"I stand behind him 100 per cent," said Rupp, who will also run the 5,000 on Sunday. "The statement came out yesterday and I was thrilled with it."
Rupp beat runner-up Ben True by nearly three seconds.
"In the end, I know the truth," Rupp said.
"Got to take a step back sometimes and look at everything. I'm ready to race. I'm not going to let anything get in the way of that."
Another of Salazar's runners, two-time Olympic champion Mo Farah, was caught up in the aftermath of the story.
The British runner, not implicated in any of the allegations, routinely trained with Rupp, who would like to see the running relationship continue.
"We have a great thing going," Rupp said. "We know we do things the right way. That's all I have to say."
In the 100 metres, Tyson Gay was second in his heat behind training partner Remontay McClain, one of the new faces to burst on the scene.
McClain finished in 9.82 seconds to hold off Gay, who's still rounding back into shape after returning last summer from a one-year suspension for doping.
"I'm trying to get used to new faces," Gay said. "It's a different era for me."
Taking all the action in from the sideline was Justin Gatlin, who's saving his energy for the 200 since he already has an automatic bye into the world championships in the 100 courtesy of his Diamond League title last season.
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