Mo Farah's gold medal evening not without minor blemish
RIO DE JANEIRO – Mo Farah’s seemingly perfect night was not without its blemishes.
On a night when Farah overcame a trip and fall to rally back and win the 10,000-meter race, his second in as many Olympics, he was forced to address a reported connection to a Somali coach recently arrested by Spanish police on doping charges.
Jama Aden, a 53-year-old coach who has worked with several of the world’s elite distance runners, was arrested in June after Spanish police raided his hotel room and found performance enhancing drugs, as first reported by the Spanish newspaper El Pais.
A photo that appears to show Farah and Aden has recently circulated around the Internet. Farah dismissed the photo and allegations after the race.
“Obviously it’s a small sport,” said Farah. “Someone asking you to get a picture, you aren’t going to say no, are you? It doesn’t mean you train with them.
“Obviously I believe in clean sport and you do what you can. But you can only control yourself.”
This is not the first time that Farah has been forced to answer questions about alleged connections to performance enhancing drugs. In 2015, a joint report published by the BBC and ProPublica contained allegations from former athletes and coaches that Alberto Salazar, who has trained Farah, was aware of usage of banned drugs, including testosterone and prescription medications.
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