Rio de Janeiro, August 21: Briton Mo Farah became only the second man to retain both Olympic track long distance titles here Saturday when he produced an utterly dominant performance to add the 5,000m gold to the 10,000 he collected a week ago.
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Dejen Gebremeksel, silver medallist behind Farah in London four years ago, and Gebrhiwet set out on a fast pace, Farah sat at the end of the strung-out field at the Olympic Stadium in flawless conditions.
American silver medallist Chelimo, said: “I can sleep happy as an Olympic silver medallist in 2016”. The crowd were good to me.
“Mentally I had to be on top of my game, the guys were out there to get me”, said Farah.
“When you see them cry, when you see them not eating as well, being a father and having four kids is not easy and seeing my wife struggle, that’s the hard part”. The guys pushed on and on. I promised Rhianna I was going to get her a medal.
“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”.
“I used to dream of becoming Olympic champion once but then twice, and come back again and again is pretty unbelievable”. At times it’s hard and the light turns off sometimes, as you miss your family, you miss your kids, a normal life. “My feeling is I want to continue to Tokyo but you have to be honest with yourself so I will take it one year at a time”, he told The Guardian.
The 66th came shortly after Farah’s win, as Christine Ohuruogu crossed the line to claim bronze for Britain in the women’s 4x400m final. It’s a different pain and a different challenge.
Nevertheless, he finished in 27 minutes, 5.17 seconds to win the third gold medal of his career.
“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. I think that’s what we need to keep doing.
“Training has gone really well”.
“I always learn something from every race”.
“Mo Farah, for services to athletics deserves to be Sir Mo Farah”. I spoke to him before the race – we got on the bus together, sat next to each other and had a little chat. He’s such a relaxed person that you feed off it and it makes you more relaxed.
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“I never doubted that he would win”. My placing was more important than my personal best. Few remember now that when he went to his first Olympics in Beijing eight years ago, he failed even to reach the final, forcing him into a radical switch that took him to OR and the occasionally controversial coach Alberto Salazar. To recover like I did, I’m so pleased. “I just got involved with the race with five laps to go”.
