London Marathon faces fresh doping claims

It reported that 32 winners of major city marathons -- London, Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin and Tokyo -- should have faced investigation over potential blood doping following test results -- a quarter of the overall total.

The newspaper did not provide dates for when its statistics allegedly apply or identify the athletes 

involved.

London Marathon chief executive Nick Bitel said in a statement on Sunday that organisers were “very concerned” by the allegations and said the race had a “zero tolerance policy” on doping. 

“We believe there are people in our sport who are cheating and everyone has a part to play to protect those who are not,” he said.

 “We continue to be at the forefront of anti-doping measures for marathon runners as we are determined to make marathon running a safe haven from doping but we cannot do it all on our own and rely heavily on the IAAF.”

In a separate development Britain’s Mo Farah -- who won Olympic gold medals in 2012 for the 5,000m and 10,000m -- is one of eight athletes who have agreed to release their own blood test data, the newspaper reported. 

His coach Alberto Salazar has faced doping allegations but both he and Farah deny any wrongdoing.

 “The decision to release my results is a personal one -- I’ve always said that I’m happy to do what it takes to prove that I’m a clean athlete,” he was quoted as saying.