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Spectacular own goal over Farah hashtag

An attempt by a British–based sport TV network to engage the public has backfired in spectacular fashion.

Sky Sport News launched the hashtag #AskFarah encouraging questions to be put to the Rio double gold medal Olympian, but obviously hadn’t counted on the wave of distaste aimed at suspected doping athletes.

Farah has run under a cloud of doubt since he failed to answer the door to a doping control officer during the buildup to the 2012 London games.

He provided video evidence that the doorbell was hard to hear from his bedroom, and said he was asleep at the time. However it then emerged that was the third test in around a year he had missed.

His coach Alberto Salazar was also the subject of unproven doping allegations.

Farah has since spoken out against dirty athletes, denying ever taking performance–enhancing drugs and publicly backing the move to ban Russian track and field athletes from Rio.

https://twitter.com/conh/status/773619915488161794

The interview ran on TV without any pointed questions being asked – which set off a second Twitter wave.

Athletes in Rio – led by Australian swimmer Mack Horton, who called Chinese defending champion Sun Yang a drug cheat – have increasingly spoken out against doping. It looks like the public has picked up that ball and run with it.

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