Mo Farah sprints to gold in IAAF World Championships

Mo Farah doing the ‘Mobot’ after clinching the 10,000 meters gold at the Moscow World Championships on Saturday

Somalia-born British long distance running champion Mo Farah surged to win the gold medal in the 10,000 meters event at the Moscow World Championships yesterday.

The double Olympic gold medallist clocked 27 minutes 21.71 seconds to win, defeating Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan, the man who stole the title from the Briton two years ago at Daegu. Kenya’s Paul Tanui finished third with a timing of 27 minutes 22.61 seconds to settle for the bronze medal.

Looking in prime form after his amazing feat in the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics, the 30-year old grabbed the lead just two laps before the conclusion of the race and produced his signature devastating final lap, avenging his disappointment at Daegu by an athlete Farah admitted never having heard of before the race.

The Guardian quoted Farah as saying: “I had the experience from a couple of years ago and I saw Jeilan coming at the bell and I didn’t want to lose again.

“To be honest with you, with the last lap I could see he was there and I was thinking: ‘God, I’ve got to make this lap worth it. At 200m again, I could see him trying down the right side. I was thinking on the home straight: ‘Not again, not again, not again.’ But I just had that little more,” said the world champion.

Ahead of the championships in Moscow, ‘Mobot’ had warned competitors of his enhanced form, as compared to the London Olympics, and said that he now has a target on his back every time he raced.

Scheduled to participate in the 5,000 metre event next Friday, Farah is most likely to be the favourite among the field as he is the defending champion in the shorter distance, after bringing home the gold at both Daegu and London.