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Farah seals first distance double-double in 40 years
RIO DE JANEIRO: His legs were tired, but Britain’s Mo Farah produced blistering pace in the final straight to become the first man in 40 years to retain the two
RIO DE JANEIRO: His legs were tired, but Britain’s Mo Farah produced blistering pace in the final straight to become the first man in 40 years to retain the two Olympic distance titles.
The 33-year-old, who fought back from a stumble to claim the 10,000m last week, said his victory in the 5,000m on Saturday night had been the most satisfying of the four golds.
Farah won his second straight 5,000m in 13min 3.30sec to match the feat of Finland’s Lasse Viren who retained the same Olympic titles in 1976. “Oh my God I can’t believe it,” said Farah. “It’s every athlete’s dream but I can’t believe it.
“My legs were tired after the 10,000m and people had to bring me food in my room.
“This is the most satisfying win of the four, it is incredible.”
Farah, who trains in Oregon under ex-marathon great Alberto Salazar, said watching Ethiopian distance legend Kenenisa Bekele medalling had been an inspiration.
“When Bekele won all those medals I said I just want one.
“If you have dreams they can come true and I always wanted to achieve these for my kids because for so much of the year you don’t see them and thus you want to show them something or rather the reason for the absences.”
Kenyan-born American Paul Chelimo took silver in a personal best of 13:03.90. He was initially disqualified but quickly reinstated.
Ethiopian Hagos Gebrehiwet claimed bronze in 13:04.35.
SOUTH AFRICA’S SEMENYA WINS 800M GOLD
Meanwhile, Controversial South African runner Caster Semenya produced a devastating sprint finish to claim the Olympic 800m crown, four years after being denied gold by Russian dope cheat Mariya Savinova.
The 25-year-old 2012 silver medallist turned on the gas with 150m to go, crossing the line more than 1.20sec clear in 1min 55.28sec at the Olympic Stadium.
Francine Niyonsaba of Burundi took silver in 1:56.49 with Kenya’s Margaret Wambui claiming bronze in 1:56.89.
“I used to be a sprinter, I ran the 100m, 200m in high school,” Semenya said of her finish.
“It was just a fantastic race. Obviously, there can only be one winner and it turned out good for me. It wasn’t about running fast, it was about running a good race.”
Semenya has been at the centre of a raging controversy in recent years because of her naturally occurring condition, hyperandrogenism, which causes elevated testosterone levels. Rival runners have said they want authorities to revisit rules that limit the amount of testosterone allowed in competitors. Partially in response to those rumblings, world athletics chiefs implemented restrictions on testosterone levels in 2011.
