Mo Farah confirmed his standing among the distance-running greats by claiming a superb victory in the men’s 5000 metres to complete a famous “double-double” at Rio 2016.
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The 33-year-old triumphed in the 5,000m final in Rio to extend his tally as Britain’s most successful Olympic track and field athlete of all time.
Farah is the first man to defend the 10,000 and 5,000 Olympic titles since Finland’s Lasse Viren in 1976.
“I’ve got such a long stride, so I find it hard, getting tripped up or tangled up with someone”, said Farah. He is, for me, the greatest British athlete.
“My legs were exhausted after the 10,000m and people had to bring me food in my room”.
“Over the last four years, I’m sure people have been watching me win the worlds and come back”.
“I remember seeing Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat in Sydney and wondering if I could become Olympic champion at the time”, said Farah of the battle between the Ethiopian and the Kenya at the 2000 Olympics, which Gebrselassie won by ninth hundredths of a second.
The medals were presented approaching midnight in a deserted stadium, a far cry from four years ago when Farah was acclaimed by 80,000 fans in his home city of London.
“Now I have to recover, just lock myself in my room and get ready for this race”.
“When I hit the front I wasn’t going to let them past me”, said Farah. “The Olympics gets harder and tougher, but now all my four kids have got one medal each and when I’m one day gone they will have something”.
After another standout Olympics, Farah is ranking ever higher among the best runners in history. After so many races where the rest of the field played into his hands by going steadily and opening the door for a last-lap burn-up, Farah was initially presented with a different challenge as Gebremeskel and Gebrhiwet set off at a hot pace.
In the women’s 800 metres, the 25-year-old Caster Semenya of South Africa proved too strong, as she clocked a national record 1:55.28 to beat Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi (1:56.49) and Margaret Nyairera Wambui of Kenya (1:56.89).
Had those disqualifications stood, American Bernard Lagat, who finished fifth, would have claimed the bronze.
Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwhet, a runner tabbed by some as the one best equipped to beat Farah, pulled close to Farah heading into the final lap and attempted to push the pace. “I’ve not really had a bad race or session, so I’ll take that as a good year”. I think it’s just because of the heat and having recently run the 10km.
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Farah was therefore more vulnerable, but the Londoner’s tactical nous has got him out of sticky situations in the past, while his winning streak on the biggest stage intimidates rivals.
