Mo Farah completed a dream double-double tonight 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 5,000 metres title at the Luzhniki Stadium, producing another trademark lung-bursting kick down the home straight, just six days after racing to glory in the 10,000m.
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. It took
Farah's tally of global gold medals to five, having also won the 5,000m two years ago in Daegu.
“I never thought in my career I would achieve something like this,” he told the BBC. “This is something I’ve worked so hard for. All I was thinking about was my kids and how much I’ve been away from them.”
He added: “It was hard. It was a lot more hard work than the last, I put so much hard work into it.”
Farah also thanked his team and the public for the support they had given him. “I had a lot of pressure but, at the same time, I enjoy it,” he said. “I’m very proud to represent my country and hold the Union Jack.”
His wife said she felt “overwhelmed” by his win.
Farah’s rivals once again played into his hands with the slow pace, the Somalian, racing for Britain, unleashing his kick with around 650m to go.
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.
Kenya’s Isaiah Kiplangat Koech took bronze.
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. 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.
