Nike's Elite Running Group Folded After Suspension of Coach Alberto Salazar
11 October 2019 - 3:03PM
Dow Jones News
By Rachel Bachman
The Nike Oregon Project, the nearly two-decade-old elite
training group created to restore the primacy of American distance
running, is being shut down, according to a memo from Nike Inc.
Chief Executive Mark Parker to company employees.
The news came 10 days after Oregon Project head coach Alberto
Salazar was given a four-year ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency
for doping conduct.
"While the panel found there was no orchestrated doping, no
finding that performance enhancing drugs have ever been used on
Oregon Project athletes and went out of its way to note Alberto's
desire to follow all rules, unfortunately, Alberto can no longer
coach while the appeal is pending," wrote Mr. Parker, who is also
Nike's president and chairman. "This situation, along with ongoing
unsubstantiated assertions, is a distraction for many of the
athletes and is compromising their ability to focus on their
training and competition needs. I have therefore made the decision
to wind down the Oregon Project."
Mr. Parker wrote that Nike would "continue to support Alberto in
his appeal as a four-year suspension for someone who acted in good
faith is wrong."
Thursday's memo came just three days before Sunday's Chicago
Marathon, in which two prominent Nike Oregon Project runners are
scheduled to compete: 2016 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Galen
Rupp and Jordan Hasay, one of the fastest women's marathoners in
recent years who has struggled with injuries.
In an interview published earlier this week, Ms. Hasay told
Runner's World that Mr. Salazar's suspension was "totally out of
the blue for me." She said she hadn't spoken to him and hadn't read
the ruling about him released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Mr. Parker's letter said Nike would help Oregon Project athletes
in their transitions to a new coaching setup.
The news was a dramatic turn of events for a company born out of
distance running. Phil Knight, a former University of Oregon
middle-distance runner, co-founded the company that would become
Nike in 1964 with Oregon's coach, Bill Bowerman.
Mr. Knight and Mr. Salazar are close to Mr. Rupp, an Oregon
native who early on became the Oregon Project's focal point.
A dozen athletes were part of the Oregon Project as of late
September. They included Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who at
the recent track and field world championships in Doha, Qatar, won
the 1,500-meter and 10,000-meter races.
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of Britain is a former
Oregon Project runner. He left the group in 2017, after winning the
5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in consecutive Olympics, and
returned to London to train.
Led by Mr. Salazar and backed by Nike's funding and cachet, the
Oregon Project launched in 2001 with the hope of restoring
Americans' dominance in distance running. The last Americans to win
the Olympic marathons were Frank Shorter in 1972 and Joan Benoit in
1984.
Write to Rachel Bachman at rachel.bachman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 10, 2019 23:48 ET (03:48 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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