The teenager who stuck a newspaper picture on his bedroom wall in Hounslow of Haile Gebrselaassie beating Paul Tergat to 10,000m gold at Sydney 2000 by the width of his vest has now surpassed all their efforts on the track.
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Those members of the successful squad who had remained in Rio beamed as they waved to the crowds – with bronze-winning gymnast Nile Wilson perched on a team-mate’s shoulders for a better view.
The 33-year-old was as humble as ever, however, after yet another textbook run by the athlete who also boasts consecutive 5,000m-10,000m doubles in the world championships.
Farah’s position among the distance-running greats was already assured.
He may even do an outing over the 26.2-mile event late next year with NY on the cards.
Rio has passed the Olympic baton to 2020 hosts Tokyo in a colourful closing spectacular that capped off a record-breaking Games for Britain. “I feel proud and want to spend time with them, give them a hug”. “I don’t now how I recovered”, Farah told reporters. Obviously I see him on the circuit, say hi.
“You’ve got to set goals and stay hungry and when you lose that moment, it’s done”.
‘When I line up I’m in the tunnel, ‘ he said. I close out everything.
BBC commentator Brendan Foster, himself an Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist, said Farah “deserves to be Sir Mo”, saying: “He is, for me, the greatest British athlete”.
“I controlled it and I wasn’t going to let anyone pass me”, Farah said, “and then in the end I just used my speed”. The guys were out there to get me.
Grabbing his latest two medals hanging round his neck, he added: “You can’t replace it”.
“I know my career is short and I try and make the most of it”. I thought about my family. “We will never see anyone like him again”.
The Somali-born Londoner again produced a superb tactical race on Saturday to outfox his rivals and take gold in 13min 3.30sec.
And it was a good day all round for Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar, with another of his charges at the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, American Matthew Centrowitz, taking 1500m gold.
Farah came into the final stretch in the lead, and that means it’s over.
Richardson-Walsh and wife Helen became the first same-sex married couple to win an Olympic gold in the same final in the historic victory over the Netherlands. The double-double. It’s insane.
“Our athletes have become role models for millions of young people back home and I’m sure have inspired the next generation of British Olympians”.
‘I remember looking at it and thinking, “I want to be Olympic champion”, and wondering if it was possible’. I was still at school.
It is Great Britain’s biggest medal haul in over a century.
The 37-year-old became the oldest woman to win an Olympic jumping event after clearing 1.97m.
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.
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She added: “It takes a lot to win an Olympic medal, especially to be able to do it twice”.
