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Friday, August 16, 2013

He's done it again! Farah takes 5,000m title in Moscow for historic 'double double' gong


Mo Farah completed a dream double-double by winning his second gold medal of the World Championships in Moscow to add to his twin Olympic triumphs.
The 30-year-old claimed the 5,000m title at the Luzhniki Stadium, producing another trademark lung-bursting kick down the home straight, just days after racing to glory in the 10,000m.
Top threeL Farah (centre) with silver medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia (left) and bronze medalist Isiah Kiplangat Koech of Kenya
Top threeL Farah (centre) with silver medalist Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia (left) and bronze medalist Isiah Kiplangat Koech of Kenya
History made: Farah recorded an historic 'double double' holding both 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic and world titles
History made: Farah recorded an historic 'double double' holding both 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic and world titles
Top of the world: Farah came through for his third World Championship title
Top of the world: Farah came through for his third World Championship title
He won in 13 minutes 26.98 seconds, crossing the line ahead of Ethiopia's Hagos Gebrhiwet.
Victory ensured he become only the second man ever after Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele to win both long-distance titles at the Olympics and the World Championships.

'DOUBLE DOUBLE': MO'S GOLDEN ACHIEVEMENT

2011 World Championships: 5,000m gold and 10,000m silver
2012 Olympic Games: 5,000m and 10,000 golds
2013 World Championships: 5,000m and 10,000m golds
It took Farah's tally of global gold medals to five, having also won the 5,000m two years ago in Daegu.
Farah told BBC2: 'It's amazing that Brendan and the team are saying great things about me.
'It's something I've worked so hard for and all I was thinking about was my kids and how much time I have been away from them.
'And all the hard work I have put in so I wasn't going to let that go.
'It's very difficult. They (his twin baby daughters) are growing so fast and I haven't been around for the last four or five months.
'They don't really recognise me so I'm looking forward to spending time with them.'
Farah added: 'It was a lot more hard work than last year.
Best: Farah is now regarded by some as the greatest British athlete of all time
Best: Farah is now regarded by some as the greatest British athlete of all time
Too much: Farah falls to the floor after winning gold in Moscow
Too much: Farah falls to the floor after winning gold in Moscow
'Alberto [Salazar, Farah's coach] has done a great job for me. He made my career, I never thought I would achieve something like this.
'I know I work hard for it, but you need the right people and I'm glad I've got the right people.
'It was very tough, I thought the guys would have worked more as a team. I've had a lot of pressure, but at the same time I enjoy it. I am very proud to represent my country and hold the Union Jack.'
Farah's rivals once again played into his hands with the slow pace, the Briton unleashing his kick with around 650m to go.
Again: Farah celebrates winning gold in the men's 5,000m final
Again: Farah celebrates winning gold in the men's 5,000m final
It looked at one point as if he might be caught, with several runners still in contention coming into the home straight, but Farah, his face contorted with effort, dug into his deepest reserves of energy to pull away and win by 0.28secs.
His last lap was timed at a typically rapid 53.51s. Farah dropped to his knees to kiss the blue Mondo track after crossing the line before embracing his coach Alberto Salazar.
Farah and his American training partner Galen Rupp were the only two athletes attempting the double, leaving their fresher rivals with a distinct advantage.
UK Athletics head of science Barry Fudge had said victory for the 30-year-old would be a "long shot" because of the toll winning the 10,000m crown would have taken on his body.
Held on: Farah looked tired towards the end, but powered through for a momentous victory
Held on: Farah looked tired towards the end, but powered through for a momentous victory
Close call: Farah saw off rival Isiah Koech of Kenya after a tight final 150 metres
Close call: Farah saw off rival Isiah Koech of Kenya after a tight final 150 metres
He managed it in London last summer, but on that occasion he had one extra day to recover.
Farah, though, is no ordinary athlete.
Five athletes in the field had faster personal bests than him and seven had gone quicker than him this season.
But they simply cannot find a way to beat him on the big stage.
Full teams of Ethiopians and Kenyans attempted to do so in the 10,000m only to have no answer to his blistering final lap, and they fared no better tonight.

IS MO THE GREATEST BRITISH ATHLETE EVER? HERE ARE THE RIVALS...

Seb Coe
Middle-distance great Coe won 1500m gold at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics and two silvers over 800m.
Daley Thompson
The decathlon king also triumphed at the 1980 and 1984 Games, as well as the 1983 World Championships.
Christine Ohuruogu
The 29-year-old broke the British 400m record as old as her in Moscow to claim her second world title in a thrilling race. 
She also won Olympic gold in 2008 and silver in 2012.
Paula Radcliffe 
The marathon world record holder has no Olympic medals, but has run the three fastest times in history for the distance.
Kelly Holmes
Double middle-distance gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004 following years of injury problems made her Britain's first double gold medallist at the same Games in 84 years.
Sally Gunnell
Gunnell hurdled to 400m Olympic gold in 1992 and world gold in a then world record the following year. 
She is the only woman to have held the European, World, Commonwealth and Olympic 400m hurdles titles at the same time.
Jonathan Edwards
His triple jump world record of 18.29m still stands 18 years after he set it in winning the world title in Gothenburg. 
He won Olympic gold in Sydney in 2000 and a second global title in Edmonton the next year.
Colin Jackson
An Olympic gold eluded him, but Jackson won two world titles over the 110m hurdles as well as Olympic silver. His 1993 world record stood for 13 years.
Mary Rand
Rand is the only British female athlete to win three medals at the same Olympics after taking long jump gold, pentathlon silver and sprint relay bronze in Tokyo in 1964.

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