Former Nike Runner Sues Ex-Coach Alberto Salazar, Alleging Abuse and Fraud

A former Nike runner is taking legal action against alleged abuse during her time as an athlete at the Swoosh. Mary Cain, a long-distance runner and former Nike Oregon project athlete, filed a $20 million lawsuit late Monday against Nike Inc. and former Nike running coach Alberto Salazar. In the suit, Cain alleges that during her four years as a Nike runner, she endured emotional, verbal, and physical abuse at the hands of Salazar.  Cain brought Salazar’s alleged misconduct to light in a 2019 New York Times op-ed video, in which she claimed that Salazar demanded excessive weight loss to the point where she lost her period, broke several bones, and suffered from depression and suicidal thoughts. Cain’s Nike teammates confirmed allegations made against Salazar. Nike’s Oregon Project, a program for top tier distance runners, was founded by Salazar and Nike in 2001. Cain joined in 2012 while in her freshman year at the University of Portland and left in 2016. In October of 2019, Nike said it would “wind down” the Oregon Project. “I ran terrible during this time. It reached a point where I was on the starting line and I’d lost the race before I started because in my head, all I was thinking

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