Mo Farah splits from coach Alberto Salazar and Oregon Project

The most accomplished men’s distance runner in recent Olympic and IAAF World Championships history is returning to London and splitting from Nike Oregon Project coach Alberto Salazar.

Mo Farah, a four-time Olympic champion over 5,000m and 10,000m, will now be coached by Gary Lough, husband and former coach of marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe.

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Farah confirmed the news, originally reported by the Sun, on Twitter on Monday posting a 40-second video explaining the desire to return to Britain. Farah first moved to Oregon in 2011 before winning two gold medals at each of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He’s a six-time world outdoor champion on the track.

No place like home! pic.twitter.com/yv2R8IkZov

— Sir Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) October 30, 2017

Ken Goe of the Oregonian reports that the decision to split was mutual between Salazar and Farah, who added that the ongoing United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation into the controversial Salazar was not his motive.

“I’m not leaving the Nike Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar because of the doping allegations,” Farah says. Salazar has not been charged for any doping-related offences and has been under investigation since “at least 2015,” according to the Oregonian.

“If I was going to leave because of that (doping allegations) I would have done [it],” Farah says, per the Sun. “I’m leaving simply because my family and I are moving back to London.”

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The 34-year-old retired from track and field after the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London and is now focusing on road racing and the marathon. Farah continues to run for Nike, which backs the Oregon-based high-performance group, which formerly included Canadian Cam Levins and features Americans Galen Rupp and Jordan Hasay.

Farah and his family are expected to move in January 2018.