New York, June 19 (IANS) Two-time Olympic champion Mo Farah on Friday denied ever taking performance enhancing drugs, insisting that he has “fully explained” his missed tests.
In a statement, Farah insisted that he had been “reassured” of the innocence of his coach Alberto Salazar, who is accused of doping offences, reports dailymail.co.uk.
“I have never taken performance enhancing drugs in my life and I never will. Over the course of my career I have taken hundreds of drugs tests and every single one has been negative,” Farah, who won gold medals in 5,000 and 10,000 metres in the 2012 London Games, said.
“I’ve fully explained the only two tests in my career that I have ever missed, which the authorities understood, and there was never any suggestion that these were anything more than simple mistakes.”
The three-time world champion, who insisted that the last few weeks have been “the toughest of my life”, said he was ‘angry, frustrated and upset”.
“The last two weeks have been the toughest of my life — with rumours and speculation about me that are completely false — and the impact this has had on my family and friends have left me angry, frustrated and upset,” the 32-year-old said.
“In particular, the media pressure on my young family and my wife, who is five months pregnant, is extremely painful, especially as I’m away training for some important races.”
The Somalia-born athlete thanked his fans, family, friends and teammates for the support they have provided over the last few days.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fans, family, friends and teammates for all the great support they have provided over the last few days and hope that I will now be allowed to focus on my training and winning medals for my country,” the five-time European champion said.
Farah had come under pressure after it was revealed that he missed two tests in 2010 and 2011.