Farah withdraws from Birmingham Diamond League meeting

LONDON (Reuters) - Double Olympic champion Mo Farah has withdrawn from Sunday's Diamond League meeting in Birmingham a day after expressing anger over the allegations made about coach Alberto Salazar.

Farah withdraws from Birmingham Diamond League meeting

(Reuters)





On Saturday Farah said he was angry his name had "been dragged through the mud" after a BBC documentary alleged his coach Salazar and training partner Galen Rupp had violated anti-doping rules.

The 32-year-old, who won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the London Olympics, was due to compete in a shorter 1,500 metres but has since pulled out citing the emotional and physical wear of the allegations.

"This week has been very stressful and taken a lot out of me," Farah, who was not accused of any wrongdoing by the documentary, said in statement on Sunday.

"I have not been able to focus properly on today's race and after the events of the last few days feel emotionally and physically drained.

"I want to run well in the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Beijing and have decided it is better for me to go back to the US, seek answers to my questions and get back into training.

"I apologise to the people who bought tickets to come and watch me race and ask for your understanding at this time."





(Reporting By Tom Hayward in London; editing by Sudipto ganguly)


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world