Nike Shuts Down Oregon Project After Alberto Salazar Hit with 4-Year Doping Ban

Nike has closed down its Oregon Project after its founder, Alberto Salazar, was hit with a four-year ban from athletics by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

Salazar, who founded the long-distance running group in 2001, was banned by USADA for "orchestrating and facilitating prohibited doping conduct" during his time on the project with endocrinologist Jeffrey Brown. 

Per Sky Sports, Runners World relayed a memo from Nike CEO Mark Parker that read:

"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."

Parker added that there is no evidence that athletes who participated in the Oregon Project took illegal performance-enhancing drugs and that Nike will help the athletes in organising new training arrangements.

Sports author David Epstein detailed the breaches made by Salazar, according to USADA:

Following USADA's announcement, Nike had backed Salazar in his appeal against the sanction, per the Guardian's Sean Ingle:

As part of the project, Salazar coached Sir Mo Farah to four gold medals in the 5,000- and 10,000-metre events at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. Farah left the Oregon Project in 2017 after six years.

Farah is set to defend his title at the Chicago Marathon on Sunday alongside Oregon Project athlete Galen Rupp, who took a silver medal behind the Brit in the 10,000-metre event in London in 2012.