NKE Nike Inc

By Rachel Bachman 

The Nike Oregon Project, the nearly two-decade-old elite training group created to restore the primacy of American distance running, is being shut down, according to a memo from Nike Inc. Chief Executive Mark Parker to company employees.

The news came 10 days after Oregon Project head coach Alberto Salazar was given a four-year ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for doping conduct.

"While the panel found there was no orchestrated doping, no finding that performance enhancing drugs have ever been used on Oregon Project athletes and went out of its way to note Alberto's desire to follow all rules, unfortunately, Alberto can no longer coach while the appeal is pending," wrote Mr. Parker, who is also Nike's president and chairman. "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."

Mr. Parker wrote that Nike would "continue to support Alberto in his appeal as a four-year suspension for someone who acted in good faith is wrong."

Thursday's memo came just three days before Sunday's Chicago Marathon, in which two prominent Nike Oregon Project runners are scheduled to compete: 2016 Olympic marathon bronze medalist Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay, one of the fastest women's marathoners in recent years who has struggled with injuries.

In an interview published earlier this week, Ms. Hasay told Runner's World that Mr. Salazar's suspension was "totally out of the blue for me." She said she hadn't spoken to him and hadn't read the ruling about him released by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

Mr. Parker's letter said Nike would help Oregon Project athletes in their transitions to a new coaching setup.

The news was a dramatic turn of events for a company born out of distance running. Phil Knight, a former University of Oregon middle-distance runner, co-founded the company that would become Nike in 1964 with Oregon's coach, Bill Bowerman.

Mr. Knight and Mr. Salazar are close to Mr. Rupp, an Oregon native who early on became the Oregon Project's focal point.

A dozen athletes were part of the Oregon Project as of late September. They included Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, who at the recent track and field world championships in Doha, Qatar, won the 1,500-meter and 10,000-meter races.

Four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of Britain is a former Oregon Project runner. He left the group in 2017, after winning the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in consecutive Olympics, and returned to London to train.

Led by Mr. Salazar and backed by Nike's funding and cachet, the Oregon Project launched in 2001 with the hope of restoring Americans' dominance in distance running. The last Americans to win the Olympic marathons were Frank Shorter in 1972 and Joan Benoit in 1984.

Write to Rachel Bachman at rachel.bachman@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 10, 2019 23:48 ET (03:48 GMT)

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