1. Alberto Salazar gave Galen Rupp testosterone when he was 16
What was alleged Steve Magness, an assistant coach at the Nike Oregon Project, told Panorama and ProPublica that he was in Salazar’s office when the reports showing athletes’ blood levels were put on his desk. “Under one of Galen’s it had ‘currently on testosterone and prednisone medication’ and when I saw that I kind of jumped backwards,” Magness said. “Testosterone is obviously banned and everyone knew that. It was all the way back in high school – and that was incredibly shocking. I actually took a picture of it.”
Salazar’s response In his open letter, Salazar claimed Rupp was taking a natural and legal testosterone supplement – possibly Testaboost, Alpha Male or ZMA – that was incorrectly recorded. “My clear recollection is that when [Magness] showed it to me, I stated that the entry was ‘crazy’ as Galen had never taken testosterone. I then stated that Galen, as a 16-year-old kid, must have misspoken about the supplements he was taking. I told Magness to take it back to the lab and have them straighten things out. I didn’t think much of it afterwards since I knew it was a mistake and because Magness never mentioned it again.” Both Salazar and Rupp strenuously deny the athlete took testosterone.
Where this leaves us Photographic evidence exists of the reports, so it comes down to whether it was incorrectly recorded. Meanwhile Magness has responded, saying: “I came to my superior, Salazar, and asked for answers. It would have been a simple clarification to make at the time for him to contact Dr Loren Myhre [the Nike lab’s then head physiologist, who died in 2012], someone who he had worked with for at least a decade, to clear up the confusion. If I saw an official medical chart naming one of my athletes being on testosterone, I think it’s any normal person’s reaction to get to the bottom of it.”
2. Rupp used prednisone, a powerful asthma drug banned in competition, aged 16
What was alleged The Panorama presenter Mark Daly spoke to Stuart Eagon, a former running colleague of Rupp, who told him of an incident in 2003 involving prednisone, which can block pain and enhance oxygen consumption and is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency in competition. “We were going on our morning run and Alberto said to Galen: ‘Have you taken your prednisone yet this morning?’” said Eagon. Daly added: “I have heard from various sources that Rupp has used prednisone regularly, but he has asthma and allergies, which could account for its use.”
Salazar’s response An emphatic denial. “The claims that Galen has been on prednisone continuously since he was 15 are absolutely false. The BBC and ProPublica ‘reporters’ were informed that these allegations were completely false, and they should not have printed them. Printing false statements to harm Galen is irresponsible journalism that damaged an innocent athlete’s reputation – Galen has never taken prednisone for a competitive advantage.” Rupp has always denied taking any banned substances.
Where this leaves us Salazar appears to have strong evidence that Rupp was not taking prednisone regularly. However as David Epstein, the ProPublica reporter who worked closely with Panorama, points out, that was not the claim. “The BBC published a document showing that Rupp had apparently taken prednisone during one time period when he was 16. The story did not report allegations of continuous use nor cite the age 15.”
3. Testosterone (AndroGel) was found at a Nike Oregon Project training camp
What was alleged Panorama spoke to John Stiner, a massage therapist who worked for Salazar in 2008, who said that Salazar told him he was using AndroGel – a banned steroid – for his heart. “He said to me: ‘I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.’ And I said: ‘OK.’ I was really unsure what he meant and he goes: ‘There’s a tube of AndroGel in the bedroom and it’s under some clothing.’ He said: ‘It’s for my heart, it’s all fucked up.’” The BBC said that using testosterone gel could actually make a heart problem worse.
Salazar’s response He accepts that he uses testosterone but says he never told Stiner it was for his heart and has never given it to his athletes. “My excessive training as an athlete did extensive damage to my body,” he said. “One of the lingering negative effects from which I still suffer today is hypogonadism with significant symptoms, including multiple low testosterone serum levels. There is no question that I have a valid justification for my possession of AndroGel as defined by the Wada code. I have never given AndroGel to any of my athletes.”
Where this leaves us With broad agreement that Salazar was on testosterone. However Stiner insists he was right to say Salazar said it was for his heart. “I told 100% the truth,” he told ProPublica. “I’ll take 20 lie detector tests. Of course he said I’m lying.” The BBC says Salazar did not respond to questions sent regarding the reason he would be prescribed testosterone that were sent in early May.
4. Salazar brought assorted vials and needles to a training camp
What was alleged Following the original Panorama and ProPublica revelations, Stiner also told the Daily Mail that he found vials in the fridge labelled “allergy one” and “allergy two” and a bag of unused hypodermic needles in the bathroom of one of the apartments the Nike Oregon Project rented while in Utah in 2008. Meanwhile the Mail also reported that Magness had also made allegations to the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada), claiming he found an unmarked vial in France that belonged to Rupp.
Salazar’s response That these vials were simply allergy medicine for Rupp. “Galen has been receiving allergy immunotherapy vaccine injections since approximately 2004. His allergy specialists at the Allergy Clinic in Portland have specially mixed two vaccines for him. Vaccine A: Allergens & Molds contains the following extracts: Cat, Dog, Dust Mites and two types of Molds. Vaccine B: Pollens contains: Mixed Grasses, Ragweeds, and 3 different Weeds common in the Pacific Northwest. Galen must receive weekly injections to help control his allergies and his asthma. All documents related to these medicines and Galen’s treatment for his allergies were provided to Usada in 2013. There is no issue here.”
Where this leaves us Salazar’s response is convincing – although it is slightly odd Magness was sent emails from Salazar and Rupp requesting the return of “Galen’s allergy serum” from France given such medicine appeared to be used so frequently.
5. Salazar tried to get a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificate for Rupp at the 2011 world championships
What was alleged Kara Goucher, the 10,000m bronze medallist at the 2007 world championships, told Panorama and ProPublica that Salazar had coached Rupp to try to get a TUE for an intravenous drip before the 2011 World Championships. Under Wada rules, such drips are prohibited and anyone caught manipulating the TUE process to get one would be liable for a ban.
Salazar’s response That the allegation is false – and he has documentation that backs him up. “As the US team doctor has confirmed, at no time did I request the US team doctor to give Galen an IV or saline drip while he was in Daegu in 2011,” he said. “Galen did not receive any vitamin shots in Daegu. The US team doctors did not have any needles and UK Athletics doctors could not treat a US athlete.”
Where this leaves us Again at a stalemate. ProPublica says other people back up Goucher’s claim but Salazar is adamant it wasn’t the case.
6. Rupp said he was tired after the 2011 World Championships in South Korea yet ran a personal best soon afterwards
What was alleged The BBC quoted Goucher, who appeared to suggest Rupp’s improvement between races was suspicious. “I had a conversation with Galen in 2011 and he told me how tired he was and how he was so excited to have the season be over,” she said. “You don’t get to the end of a long year burnt out and take two weeks off and come out and run the best race of your life, that’s not how it works.”
Salazar’s response As Salazar points out, when Rupp ran in Daegu it was 80F (26.6C) and the heat wouldn’t have suited him because he weighed more than other athletes, while in Brussels – where Rupp broke the US record – it was only 59F (15C). He added: “It should be noted that even while making these false allegations against me, neither Kara nor Adam ever claim that I violated the Wada code or IAAF anti-doping rules.”
Where this leaves us Another impasse. Salazar claims Rupp’s improvement in 2011 was no surprise because he had steadily got better throughout his career. Others who have worked at the Nike Oregon Project have told the Guardian that they did not expect Rupp to improve as much as he did in 2011 and 2012.
7. Salazar wanted to give Goucher a prescription thyroid drug because she had put on weight after giving birth
What was alleged Goucher claimed to Panorama that Salazar had tried to get her to take the prescription thyroid drug Cytomel, saying: “Alberto was always unhappy about my weight after I had Colt, like it was almost as if I didn’t have a child, I’d just like gained 30 pounds. He said: ‘You need to just take some Cytomel.’ Maybe four or five days goes by and Alberto brought me this prescription drug that I didn’t have a prescription for. It has Alberto’s writing on it clear as day.”
Salazar’s response Salazar has published a trail of email correspondence between the pair which appears to suggest that he did not want Goucher to lose weight more quickly. “I was thrilled with Kara’s weight, body composition and fitness in 2011,” he added. However, he did admit: “There was one time when I gave Kara Cytomel. It was in August 2011 in Daegu, South Korea. I did so after being expressly directed to do so by Kara’s endocrinologist, Dr Brown.”
Where this leaves us Salazar’s evidence appears to back up his claims regarding weight loss. However ProPublica has since spoken to Dr Brown, who says that while he could not discuss individual patients: “I would never, ever give somebody Cytomel for weight loss, ever.” As to the bottle, Brown said: “I don’t write on frickin’ bottles, and if it was mine, you wouldn’t be able to read it.”
8. Salazar was happy for his athletes to take banned testosterone medication
What was alleged Panorama spoke to another unnamed runner, who worked with Salazar for several years, who said that in 2007 he was feeling run down and went to see Dr Loren Myhre, who “suggested that I go and see an endocrinologist that Alberto and most of the athletes work with, to get testosterone and thyroid. He said: ‘This is what Alberto does. You’ll feel better and you’ll be able to train better,’ and so then I said: ‘Well, isn’t that cheating?’ And he goes: ‘Well no, Alberto does it.’ I did mention something about being, like: ‘Wouldn’t it test positive?’ He said: ‘No, no, no. We’ll get you into the normal range.’”
Salazar’s response A fierce and emphatic denial. Salazar called these allegations “a remarkable display of irresponsible journalism” adding: “I do not know of a single instance where Dr Myhre ever recommended that an athlete that I was coaching take testosterone whether with a prescription or otherwise.” He added: “To claim ‘That is what Alberto does’ is completely false. It is not what I did then; it’s not what I do now and it’s not what I have ever done.”
Where this leaves us Another impasse. Dr Myhre passed away in 2012, which makes it particularly hard to prove or refute the allegations.
9. Rupp received unspecified pills in a paperback thriller
What was alleged Magness and Rupp were in Düsseldorf when Rupp told him he wasn’t feeling well. Magness called Salazar, who he says told him to expect a package. Two days later, a box arrived at his hotel room. Inside it he found a paperback thriller. Confused, he flipped it open. A section of the pages had been hollowed out to form a compartment into which two pills were taped. “At that point,” Magness says, “my mind was like: ‘This is stuff you see in movies, this is extremely strange.’” He handed the pills to Rupp, who he says promptly swallowed them and laughed off the clandestine packaging as typical Salazar antics.
Salazar’s response Neither Salazar nor Rupp responded to Epstein’s original questions about the hollowed-out book containing pills. But in his statement Salazar says: “Allegations around prednisone in Düsseldorf are false, and Steve Magness is fully aware of what occurred because he was involved.” Salazar also quotes another time, in Birmingham, where he used unusual packaging via mail. “Noting my peculiar packaging, Galen wrote: ‘You went all Shawshank Redemption on that book and nasal spray. I loved it!!!’
Where this leaves us Depending on your point of view, this either shows that Salazar – for all his reputation for being intense and win-at-all costs – is a secret practical joker, or needs to explain why he didn’t send medicine to his athlete in the normal way.
10. Salazar tested testosterone on his son, Alex, in a laboratory to see the levels needed to evade tests
What was alleged Salazar’s son was involved in tests to see how much testosterone cream would trigger a positive test. According to Magness, Alex told him they were worried that someone could rub some cream on one of their athletes after a race. Magness said he believed that explanation to be “ludicrous” – and that they were instead trying to figure out how to cheat.
Salazar’s response Salazar does not mention Alex in his response but does say he “let his paranoia get the best of him” when he asked Dr Brown to “set up an experiment” to see whether it was possible for an athlete to be sabotaged by someone rubbing testosterone on them. Salazar says that when Justin Gatlin, the 100m runner, blamed his positive test for exogenous testosterone on being sabotaged by his massage therapist, Chris Whetstine, a claim Whetstine denied. Salazar claims he was worried the same thing might happen to Rupp – especially when Whetstine rubbed Rupp’s shoulders in 2009.
Where this leaves us ProPublica have since spoken to Brown, who said he did not prescribe a controlled substance for Salazar’s son or other research subjects as part of an experiment. “No, absolutely not,” Brown said. “I didn’t do that, and would not do that.” He said that he was merely advising Salazar on how to conduct research on potential sabotage “in a hypothetical situation”. He said that Salazar’s exploration of potential testosterone sabotage was admirable.