Mo Farah became the first British track and field athlete to win three Olympic gold medals by retaining his 10,000 metres title in Rio, but Jessica Ennis-Hill had to settle for heptathlon silver and Greg Rutherford long jump bronze.
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Kenyan Paul Tanui won silver in 27:05.64 with Ethiopian Tamirat Tola third in 27:06.26.
And in fact the result of qualifying turned out well for Rutherford, who saw rivals like American Mike Hartfield, China’s Xinglong Gao and Sweden’s Michel Torneus fail to make the final.
The 33-year-old overcame a mid-race fall to power through to the front of the field in the final 100m and win in 27 minutes five seconds. That is why I was quite emotional at the end because it nearly went. But I’ve still got years left and I just need to take this and turn it into something positive in the relay.
Until that moment, the London Olympics 10,000m and 5000m champion had been in complete command of the race, moving from the back of the field to the front easily in a sign of his incredible combination of stamina and speed.
Farah’s blistering final lap ensured he became the first British runner to win three Olympic titles and he is now the favourite to add a fourth in the 5,000m next weekend.
“I’d promised my older daughter Rihanna I was going to get a medal for her and in my mind I was thinking I can’t let her down”, said Farah, who flashed a thumbs-up sign to show he was OK.
The Brit survived a fall, as well as a challenge from the Kenyans and Ethiopians, to secure his third Olympic title, and potentially the first of two at Rio 2016.
“I’m excited I get another shot to go out there and represent the US”, he said, “and have another chance to race”. For his part, Rupp mostly stuck right with Farah, and I believe I even detected some coordinating gestures between the two. I have got such a long stride.
Rupp said he felt at least partially responsible when Farah fell.
“It would be incredible to win three golds, or even four”, he said. “Training not gone as well as I would have liked, but the chest problem that I developed in the course of the race spoiled all our plans”, Kamworor said.
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The one hole in Farah’s resume is that he has never held the world record in the 5,000, 10,000 or 3,000, a non-Olympic distance that is often run in the Diamond League. I know 7.90m is not good, but it was just a matter of making finals.
