Alberto Salazar, U.S. track coach, gets lifetime ban for sexual, emotional misconduct

Track coach Alberto Salazar has been permanently banned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport for sexual and emotional misconduct.

Salazar has 10 days to appeal the decision, which was handed down Monday. The Safe Sport centre does not reveal details of investigations.

In 2019, a handful of runners, including Mary Cain, Kara Goucher and Amy Yoder Begley, revealed they had been emotionally and physically abused while working with Salazar as part of the Nike Oregon Project team.

In January 2020, SafeSport temporarily banned Salazar. The decision Monday makes it a permanent ban, pending any appeal.

The 62-year-old Salazar, who won the Boston and New York Marathons in the early 1980s and went on to coach a cadre of Olympic medallists, including Mo Farah and Galen Rupp — along with Canada's Cam Levins — did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

His sanction was handed down as the Court of Arbitration for Sport considers an appeal of a separate case that led to Salazar's four-year ban for doping-related offences.

In 2019, Salazar received the doping ban after a six-year investigation determined he had possessed and trafficked testosterone while also experimenting with athletes on how far they could push the envelope with certain performance enhancers without getting caught.

Shortly after the decision, Nike shuttered Salazar's running club.

Farah has never failed a drugs test and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

In a statement to Reuters, USA Track & Field said it "takes all forms of misconduct extremely seriously."

"[USATF] took immediate action when reports were initially filed in this case," the national governing body said. "No form of abuse will ever be tolerated within our sport, and we will continue to prioritize athletes' emotional and physical safety above all else."