Share

Britain’s Mo Farah earns Olympic double-double with men’s 5000m

Farah defended his 5,000-meter Olympic crown in the Estádio Olímpico Joao Havelange, edging out Paul Kipkemoi Chelimo of the U.S. in second and Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet in third, to add to his earlier successful defense of the 10,000m title he first won at London 2012.

Advertisement

The Canadian record holder in the 5000 meters, Ahmed began the race towards the back of the 16-man field, along with eventual race victor Mo Farah, who won his second-straight Olympic gold medal in the event. “It shows I didn’t just fluke it in London, to do it again is incredible”. Ohuruogu held the position knowing it would be her last time competing at an Olympic games.

“You’re a target, you’re a target”.

A tearful Lynsey Sharp of the United Kingdom, who finished sixth, decried the difficulty of competing with Semenya when interviewed by BBC Sport after the race.

And Matt Centrowitz became the first American to win the Olympic men’s 1,500m final in more than a century, holding off a late challenge from Algeria’s Taoufik Makhloufi.

Great Britain won 27 gold medals in a stunning total of 67 in the Rio Olympics.

The last man to win both distance races in consecutive Olympics was the Finnish runner Lasse Viren at the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games.

Mo Farah’s second gold helps Team GB win two medals on the last day on the track, helping beat London 2012’s medal haul.

On the medal stand, Farah put his fingers on top of his head for the heart-shaped “Mobot” move, as well-known to long-distance running fans as Usain Bolt’s “To the World” pose is to everyone else. “If you look at me, I didn’t win medals until just recently, I’d been coming sixth, seventh”. I hate to lose, I have been like that ever since I was a kid, I’m really driven.

Farah won his fourth Olympic gold as he creates history by winning the 5,000m.

Mo Farah is quitting the Olympics track to spend mopre time with his family and intends to engrave the names of his children on his four gold medals.

Canoeist Liam Heath added to the golden tally in the the K1 200 metres final, making him Britain’s most successful Olympic canoeist, before bronze medallist Vicky Holland won the first British Olympic medal in the women’s triathlon, and Bianca Walkden took bronze in the taekwondo.

It is not as if he needed the help, but he still won while several of the runners behind him caused a bit of confusion. That meant United States teammate Bernard Lagat would get bronze.

Puyallup’s Hassan Mead placed 11th with a time of 13:09.81.

None of that affected Farah.

“I’m going to take a holiday, come back and then decide what’s next”, the Guardian quoted the 33-year-old said after her victory.

Advertisement

Spain’s Ruth Beitia surprised the field to win her maiden major title in the high jump.

Mo Farah of Britain celebrates winning the gold