AT THE DOUBLE DOUBLE
MO FARAH WINS THE OLYMPIC 5000M AND 10,000M AGAIN AS FELLOW BRIT ANDREW BUTCHART ALSO EXCELS
JH
5000M
SUCH IS Mo Farah’s ability to see off a world-class field at 5000m or 10,000m on the track, there is a danger we are taking it for granted. No longer do we expect to see him lose. The 33-year-old turns up, ghosts to the front in the final mile and is impossible to dislodge.
It sounds easy, but it is far from straightforward. Farah’s victories are earned in the countless miles logged at high altitude and the gruelling track sessions set out for him by Alberto Salazar. Then, in the race itself, he has to keep her nerve and use his tactical acumen to outpace and outwit his rivals.
Two for one: Mo Farah shows off his Rio spoils
In the case of the 5000m final on Saturday night, this did not include any Kenyans for the first time since the boycotted Games of 1980. Farah did, however, face Kenyan-born Americans Paul Chelimo and Bernard Lagat, plus Ethiopians such as Hagos Gebrhiwet and Muktar Edris as he made a bid to emulate Lasse Virén’s feat of winning the 5000m and 10,000m double at two consecutive Olympic Games.
The Brits lead before the kick for home
At the start, Farah fell straight to the back, as he often does in these championships races, although he did not have the luxury of staying there long. “Our plan was to go fast and drop Mo Farah,” said Gebrhiwet, who teamed up with fellow Ethiopian Dejen Gebremeskel to set a hard pace. “In the first six laps we tried our best but when we couldn’t see any change, we held it back then,” he added.