Alberto Salazar calls cheating accusations ‘demonstrably false’ in 11,000-word response

Alberto Salazar
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Nike Oregon Project head coach Alberto Salazar called allegations of cheating from his former athletes and staff “demonstrably false” after spending hours reviewing information from the past 15 years to write an 11,000-word response to BBC and ProPublica reports from June 3.

Salazar denied that he violated medical and anti-doping rules with his athletes.

“Some have tried to console me by saying public attacks like these are the price of success in today’s world,” Salazar wrote to conclude a two-part letter published on nikeoregonproject.com. “You win: people will try to tear you down. That’s not my world. That’s not the Oregon Project. Here, success is earned with talent, hard work, dedication and fair play…. and, that’s how it is going to stay. Let the haters hate; we’re going to keep winning through hard work, dedication and fair play.”

Salazar attached 30 documents — including copies of emails with medical and training information for his athletes — 15 days after he said he hoped to be afforded “a short time to show the accusers are knowingly making false statements. I will document and present the facts as quickly as I can,” according to the Guardian.

Salazar’s prized American runner, Olympic 10,000m silver medalist Galen Rupp, was one of the focuses of the BBC and ProPublica reports. Rupp has never failed a drug test.

Former Salazar assistant Steve Magness and former Nike Oregon Project runner Kara Goucher, a two-time U.S. Olympian, said they witnessed concerning medical or training practices with Rupp, a 29-year-old coached by Salazar since high school.

In the June 3 BBC TV report, a reporter told Goucher that Rupp was the most drug tested U.S. athlete.

“So was Lance Armstrong,” Goucher responded. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

In Wednesday’s response, Salazar said that Rupp provided the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) “with over 500 pages of medical records and documents regarding his asthma treatment and the medications he had taken” dating to May 2001.

USADA is investigating the allegations against Salazar, according to The Associated Press.

“Allegations that Galen takes asthma and thyroid medicine for competitive purposes are inaccurate and hurtful,” Salazar wrote. “Galen takes asthma medication so he can breathe normally – not so he can run better.

“All Oregon Project athletes are instructed to declare any and all supplements that they are currently taking on their USADA or IAAF Doping Control Official Record forms whenever they are tested. Neither USADA nor the IAAF has ever raised an issue with any of the supplements listed on an Oregon Project athlete’s declaration form.”

Rupp is scheduled to compete in the USA Track and Field Championships in the 5000m and 10,000m. His first race is the 10,000m on Thursday at 11:15 p.m. ET at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

USA Track and Field Championships TV schedule

2023 French Open women’s singles draw, scores

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At the French Open, Iga Swiatek of Poland eyes a third title at Roland Garros and a fourth Grand Slam singles crown overall.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Swiatek, the No. 1 seed from Poland, can join Serena Williams and Justine Henin as the lone women to win three or more French Opens since 2000.

Having turned 22 on Wednesday, she can become the youngest woman to win three French Opens since Monica Seles in 1992 and the youngest woman to win four Slams overall since Williams in 2002.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Men’s Draw

But Swiatek is not as dominant as in 2022, when she went 16-0 in the spring clay season during an overall 37-match win streak.

She retired from her last pre-French Open match with a right thigh injury and said it wasn’t serious. Before that, she lost the final of another clay-court tournament to Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.

Sabalenka, the No. 2 seed, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, the No. 4 seed and Wimbledon champion, are the top challengers in Paris.

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the highest-seeded American man or woman, was eliminated in the third round.

No. 6 Coco Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek last year, is the best hope to become the first American to win a Grand Slam singles title since Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought is the longest for U.S. women since Seles won the 1996 Australian Open.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Women’s Singles Draw

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2023 French Open men’s singles draw, scores

French Open Men's Draw
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The French Open men’s singles draw is missing injured 14-time champion Rafael Nadal for the first time since 2004, leaving the Coupe des Mousquetaires ripe for the taking.

The tournament airs live on NBC Sports, Peacock and Tennis Channel through championship points in Paris.

Novak Djokovic is not only bidding for a third crown at Roland Garros, but also to lift a 23rd Grand Slam singles trophy to break his tie with Nadal for the most in men’s history.

FRENCH OPEN: Broadcast Schedule | Women’s Draw

But the No. 1 seed is Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who won last year’s U.S. Open to become, at 19, the youngest man to win a major since Nadal’s first French Open title in 2005.

Now Alcaraz looks to become the second-youngest man to win at Roland Garros since 1989, after Nadal of course.

Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January due to a right leg injury, but since went 30-3 with four titles. Notably, he has not faced Djokovic this year. They could meet in the semifinals.

Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No. 2 seed, was upset in the first round by 172nd-ranked Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild. It marked the first time a men’s top-two seed lost in the first round of any major since 2003 Wimbledon (Ivo Karlovic d. Lleyton Hewitt).

No. 9 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Frances Tiafoe are the highest-seeded Americans, looking to become the first U.S. man to make the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. Since then, five different American men combined to make the fourth round on eight occasions.

MORE: All you need to know for 2023 French Open

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2023 French Open Men’s Singles Draw

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