Spectacular own goal over Farah hashtag
Mo Farah is a double – double gold Olympian, with titles from both Rio and London. Photo: Getty
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.
Keep your questions coming in for Double Olympic champion @Mo_Farah using #AskFarah and we'll ask him the best! pic.twitter.com/1tt2s0MztZ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) September 7, 2016
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.
#AskFarah Did you expect this hashtag interrogation to be so mean? Or are you deluded enough to think running community thinks you're clean?
— Liam Dee (@_TweetleDee_) September 7, 2016
His coach Alberto Salazar was also the subject of unproven doping allegations.
I know I'm biased, but from a marketing perspective Sky Sports promotion #AskFarah is a hilarious lesson in marketing gone wrong…
— Steve Magness (@stevemagness) September 7, 2016
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.
When the @SkySportsNewsHQ team check in on the #AskFarah hashtag. pic.twitter.com/EqDwc1SjDN
— Sir Mo’s Doorbell (@MoDoorbell) September 7, 2016
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.
#askfarah Sometimes 140 characters aren't enough… here are my questions for #mofarah pic.twitter.com/aQRQiwNpcW
— Glen Cottingley (@GlenCottingley) September 6, 2016
