English: Mo Farah during EC Cross 2008 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Mo Farah was the star of the opening day of the World Athletics Championships in Moscow, winning the 10 000 metres to put the seal on his status as the greatest current men’s distance runner and, according to no less an authority than Sebastian Coe, the greatest ever from Great Britain.
The presence of Farah and Usain Bolt, in action in the 100 metres heats, wasn’t enough to attract Muscovites, with the Luzhniki stadium barely half-full, but Farah didn’t care about empty seats, only unfinished business. He is the Olympic champion at the distance he tackled last night, but his defeat in the world title race in Daegu, in 2011, has continued to rankle.
On that occasion, he was pipped on the line by Ibrahim Jeilan of Ethiopia, and history seemed to be repeating here at the end of an erratic race in which Farah spent the first six laps last. In the huge, 35-man field, that meant around 25 metres from front to back.
Farah bridged that gap with one surge on the seventh lap, hitting the front – to try to slow it down, he claimed later – then drifting back to hover around the first six. Paul Kipngetich of Kenya was the long-time frontrunner, but the pace he set wasn’t enough to disrupt Farah’s gameplan. That seemed to involve Galen Rupp, the American who is also coached by Alberto Salazar.
Rupp, who eventually finished a disappointed fourth, got in the way of the Ethiopians and Kenyans who were trying to avoid carrying Farah to the last few laps, where he could use his devastating finish. “Mo and I talked beforehand about working together,” said Rupp. “We always try and find each other in these races and there’s a level of comfort when we’re running together. It helps having a team-mate in there.”
With four laps to go there were still 15 in a crowded front group, and Farah accelerated once again to the front, catching his foot and almost stumbling, but recovering his composure to take it on with 1,500m left.
And then, on the final bend, came Jeilan. Farah kept glancing anxiously over his shoulder, Jeilan kept coming, and Farah urged himself on, mouth open, yelling – it looked like “Yes, Yes, Yes,” though he said afterwards that he couldn’t remember – as he charged down the home straight. The gap held and finally Farah was able to lift his hands, open his mouth and slap his head, in trademark fashion, about five metres from the end. – scotsman
