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Salazar's reign in the sport of running began to unravel in September, when he received a four-year ban by the United States Anti-Doping Agency for doping violations. Shortly after, Nike announced it would shut down the Oregon Project.

ABC News' attempts to reach Salazar by phone were not successful. Salazar replied to the Times by email.

\"In an email Alberto Salazar denied many of Mary’s claims and said he had supported her health and welfare,\" according to the media outlet.

Nike told ABC News in a statement, \"These are deeply troubling allegations which have not been raised by Mary or her parents before. We take the allegations extremely seriously and will launch an immediate investigation to hear from the Oregon Project athletes. At Nike we seek to always put the athlete at the center of everything we do, and these allegations are completely inconsistent with our values.\"

Cain told \"GMA\" that, looking back, she wonders if her career would have been different if more women were involved in Nike's program.

\"I think what I regret is at this time I thought to be strong meant going alone, but the truth is you're never alone,\" she said. \"here's always people that you can turn to and it's just about finding the right support system.\"

Cain has received support from fellow female runners since going public with her claims against Nike and Salazar.

Olympian Shalane Flanagan wrote in a tweet, \"I had no idea it was this bad. I’m so sorry @runmarycain that I never reached out to you when I saw you struggling. I made excuses to myself as to why I should mind my own business. We let you down. I will never turn my head again.\"

I had no idea it was this bad. I’m so sorry @runmarycain that I never reached out to you when I saw you struggling. I made excuses to myself as to why I should mind my own business. We let you down. I will never turn my head again.https://t.co/pfj0BIaEiS

— Shalane Flanagan (@ShalaneFlanagan) November 7, 2019

Another American runner, Olympian Kara Goucher spoke to the New York Times for a piece accompanying Cain's op-ed and hopes that by speaking out with Cain there is \"power in the numbers and the voices.\"

\"As a society we’ve really started to believe women more and started to see that we’ve just been conditioned to brush these stories off and these actions off and it’s not okay,\" she told \"GMA.\" \"I hope people think about their purchasing dollars moving forward and saying they will not tolerate this behavior anymore.\"

Goucher, now 41, also trained for seven years at the Oregon Project. She did not overlap with Cain there but said she worked with the same coaches and experienced the same type of \"toxic environment\" as described by Cain.

\"Weight was a constant topic,\" she said. \"Unlike Mary I was actually a grown woman and it affected me tremendously so it’s just so sad to hear her recollection.\"

Goucher recalled quietly eating energy bars in her room so no one would hear her while training for the Olympic trials in 20018.

\"We were training up at altitude and the assistant coach was cooking for me to try to help me lose more weight,\" she said. \"I was 29 at the time and starving but didn’t want them to know.\"

\"PHOTO:
Frank Augstein/AP, FILE
PHOTO: Kara Goucher smiles during the medal ceremonies after the World Athletic Championships in London, Aug. 5, 2017.
>

Both Goucher and Cain claim that Salazar and his team did not have a licensed nutritionist or a licensed sports psychologist on staff.

Goucher recalls weight being a focus for both male and female athletes, but said it was only female athletes who were subject to public scrutiny about their weight and bodies.

Goucher said she first spoke out about a \"toxic culture\" at the Oregon Project in 2015 and lost sponsorships and support because of it.

While recognizing that treating \"women's bodies as objects instead of humans\" is a broad cultural problem, Goucher said Nike is seen as the leader in sports and has a responsibility to change their own ways.

I am so proud of @runmarycain for telling her powerful story of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse at the Nike Oregon Project. This took so much bravery. We have to stop the abuse of athletes, specifically female. Please watch and thank you Mary ❤️https://t.co/Rha4Qhs3k7

— Kara Goucher (@karagoucher) November 7, 2019

\"Nike is the leader globally in sports and they have proven time and time again to have a sexist and just really toxic culture,\" she said. \"They have the ability to change it. So far we’ve just seen lip service. We haven’t really seen any action.\"

The new claims by Cain come five months after other female athletes, including Goucher, alleged to The New York Times that Nike penalized them while pregnant.

Goucher claimed she had to make a choice between training for a half-marathon so she could get paid by Nike to race again or staying with her newborn son in the hospital.

Shortly after the company said it would do more to protect female athletes' pay during and after pregnancy.

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