Mo Farah has been taking it easy since his bruising 10,000 metres win on the opening night of these World Championships, but he returned to his home from home last night looking much more comfortable than might have been expected when he conducted his post-race press conference bloodied and heavily strapped.
The 10-time Olympic and World Championship gold medallist remains the odds-on favourite in the 5000 metres but he admitted to having taken the chance to get a bit of pampering over the past few days.
“I had treatment and the team have been great with me. I went home to stay in Teddington with my family but I had to get back into the hotel again. I only stayed one night,” he said, grinning broadly.
He tried to take it as easy as possible last night, too, sitting at the back of the field for most of the first lap of the race and only very gradually working his way through the field during the first half of another towsy race.
Running in the first heat, with only five men guaranteed qualification, he re-entered the rough house as he moved to the head of the field for the first time almost immediately sparking a bout of bumping and barging which resulted in him dropping back again in the course of that lap.
He always had matters totally under control, however, and he was clearly satisfied with the way he had dealt with the race, but admitted that the condition had also taken their toll.
“I’m cold. It’s miserable out there, but job done. I had to get back into some kind of running again, though,” he said. “It’s been five days of just chilling out and trying to recover. The 10k did take a lot out of me. I was definitely beaten up but I’m glad I’ve come through tonight and I’m ready for the final.
“The knee’s OK. My body’s been tired, but I just have to recover now, get in the zone and switch off, turn the lights off.”
If his own experience last Friday had not been sufficient to do so he indicated that he had taken a reminder from what happened across the rest of the weekend that no amount of past success is a
guarantee of anything at this level of athletics
“It ain’t easy,” said Farah. “You’ve seen it with Usain Bolt, it happens in sport. It would have been nice to see him win. I was looking forward to that, but it didn’t happen.
“Nobody’s going to give it to you no matter who you are . . . I just have to focus on myself.”
The man who has been unbeaten at a major championships since claiming a silver in the 10,000 metres at the World championships in Daegu, where he went on to start his gold run by winning the 5000 metres, is acutely aware of his place in the record books and now has his sights on finishing his track career in the style to which we have become accustomed with one more performance of his Mobot celebration as he crosses the winning line in his home city.
“It would be pretty amazing to finish with gold and making another bit of history, but at the same time you can’t take anything for granted,” he re-asserted.
“They’re coming for me, they’re hungry. You could see it in that heat, they wanted to make a point tonight and show me. But I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it. You’ll see me on the start line hopefully. I just have to recover now.”
He was beaten in what was his penultimate track outing, Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha claiming the win in a time of 13 minutes 30.07 seconds, just ahead of the three-time previous champion in this event with another Ethiopian, Muktar Edris, finishing just behind them – Canada’s Justyn Knight and Eritrea’s Aron Kifle claiming the remaining two spots.
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