LISTEN | Mary Cain, a former renowned runner, discusses the importance of safe sport:
Once hailed as the fastest female runner in the United States at just 17 years old, Mary Cain faced a harrowing ordeal of psychological torment, body shaming, and being coerced to train while injured and undernourished, which eventually led her to abandon the sport she excelled in.
Reflecting on her traumatizing experience at the Nike Oregon Project under the guidance of coach Alberto Salazar, Cain revealed her anguish in a 2019 New York Times op-ed. This disclosure prompted other elite athletes under Salazar’s tutelage to share their own tales of mistreatment. Subsequently, Salazar received a lifetime ban from track by the U.S. Center for SafeSport in 2021 due to sexual and emotional misconduct, a ruling he unsuccessfully contested.
Now aged 29, Cain is vocal about defining “tough coaching” as a form of abuse, shedding light on how toxicity permeates high-level sports, often originating in school environments.
Despite her exceptional achievements as a teen, including participation in the World Championships and setting records in the 800 meters as a high schooler, Cain encountered hostility from peers and parents, condoned by her high school coaches.
Her narrative in her recent memoir, This Is Not About Running, delves into how abuse is sometimes tacitly accepted in the upper echelons of sport, stemming from early experiences in educational settings.
Recalling her time at the Nike Project, Cain alleges that Salazar transitioned from refining her running technique to fixating on controlling her diet and appearance. She recounted instances where she was weighed publicly, with Salazar shaming her for exceeding 114 pounds.
Despite confiding in her parents, who confronted her coaches, Cain claimed her complaints were met with retaliation instead of reform. Consequently, she learned to suffer in silence.
Cain highlights the pervasive public scrutiny faced by young female athletes, particularly condemning media commentary on their bodies. She emphasizes the inappropriateness of scrutinizing young girls’ physical attributes, a practice she experienced firsthand.
Her tenure at the Nike Project was marked by a decline in both physical and mental well-being, with Salazar allegedly pushing her to persist through injuries while disregarding her health. This period of turmoil culminated in Cain leaving the Nike Oregon Project in 2015 feeling shattered.
Not until Salazar’s four-year track ban for doping violations in 2019 did Cain confront the uncomfortable reality of her past experiences. Despite Salazar’s public statement following the ban, he never directly apologized to Cain.
In 2023, Cain settled a lawsuit against Nike and her former coach.
Her focus in recent years has been on healing, a journey facilitated by her memoir and therapy. Cain aspires to challenge the normalization of abuse in sports and encourages parents to speak out against inappropriate behavior in sporting environments.
While running initially served as a form of solace for Cain, she has found joy in the pursuit of a medical career at Stanford University, committed to a path dedicated to helping others.
