Mo Farah beats his bogeyman to win 10,000m at world championships
Moscow, Aug 10, 2013 (SDN) — In a Luzhniki Stadium that was barely a quarter full to its 50,000 capacity, Mo Farah provided his own soundtrack by shouting his way to victory as he won a thrilling sprint finish to take gold in the men’s 10,000m. Afterwards Farah lay flat on his back, arms behind his head, catching the final rays of the evening sun – and rightly basking in a job well done.
The last time Farah suffered defeat in the final of a major championships was in the 10,000m in Daegu when the Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan, unfancied and largely unknown, beat him in a sprint for the line. Few had given Jeilan much of a chance of defending his title but with 800m to go he was on Farah’s shoulder again, threatening the ultimate deja vu.
But this time there would be no repeat, even if Farah kept looking back in the final 100m, as if fearing the bogeyman was going to get him. Jeilan closed the gap to a couple of metres but Farah was always ahead and a 54.49sec final lap brought him victory in 27min 21.71sec, with Jeilan winning silver in 27:22.23 and Paul Tanui bronze in 27:22.41. Galen Rupp, Farah’s training partner, was fourth in 27:24.39.
“I had the experience from a couple of years ago and I saw Jeilan coming at the bell,” Farah said. “I didn’t want to lose again. I remember a couple of years ago I was second and I was just digging in, digging in and make sure I didn’t over stride. I kept looking across and you could see in my eyes, I was just making sure they didn’t come after me. It was nice to come out here and win it. That was the one missing.”
By winning a double gold at London 2012 Farah entered the pantheon; now he can rightly demand a seat at the top table of middle-distance history, alongside those great Ethiopians Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele, and legends of another vintage such as Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zatopek and Lasse Viren.
Farah has also won more golds at world championships and Olympics than any other British athlete. Daley Thompson and Jonathan Edwards have three. Sebastian Coe, Linford Christie and Colin Jackson are among those who have two. Only Farah has four.
It was almost a year to the day that Farah won 5,000m Olympic gold in front of 80,000 people. This time it was barely a quarter of that, even though a season ticket in excellent seats for all 15 sessions costs just 6,000 roubles (around £110) – less than many would have paid to watch Farah win his 5,000m gold in London.
It was also a curious beginning from Farah, who happily allowed himself to drop to last for the opening two laps. It was almost as if he was daring his rivals: if you think you can beat me, go now. Let’s see what you’re made of. The invitation was extended for another two laps before Farah decided, in the space of not much more than a lap, to move to the front and see what it was like to lead.
Earlier in the day, during the women’s marathon, the athletes had been sprayed with water to cool them down. There was no such luck for the men in the 10,000m. The heat and the humidity was such that it must have been like trying to run in a greenhouse.
With 4,000m remaining the Kenyans Kenneth Kipkemoi and Paul Tanui began talking to each other and briefly they seemed to inject some pace. But only briefly. As the laps counted down the chances of Farah winning gold merely grew. His rivals continued to play into his hands, too scared to make a move too early in case they burned out. With eight laps left there were still 25 men within 20 metres of the leader. Even with just under four laps remaining there were still a dozen athletes with chances. The main danger for Farah was being tripped up by the Kenyans and Ethiopians around him.
“I nearly went down a couple of times but thank God I didn’t go down and I just managed to cover every move,” he said. “It was important that it was me and Galen working together.” It was now a 1500m race and Farah had advertised his strength over that distance by running 3min 28sec in Monaco last month. After talking to Rupp, the pair decided to go with 1,000m to go. But as Rupp slipped back, Farah powered on to gold and glory.
As he realised that victory was his, Farah roared and roared and roared again. The stadium might have been mute but Farah was determined to make some noise with more than just his performance. Now Farah has another chance to embrace history. Only one athlete – Bekele – has followed an Olympic double in the men’s 5,000m and 10,000m with world championship golds a year later. The heats of the men’s 5,000m start on Tuesday morning, with the final on Friday evening. That will be Farah’s target now.
He has surely reached the zenith of his career: at this moment defeat seems a loose, abstract concept, something that doesn’t really apply to him any more. Just as importantly, his competitors do not seem to think they can beat him either.
Source: The Guardian