by Larry Eder
We didn’t need to be told how much this meant to Mo Farah, how much he cared about making a statement on the track in Lausanne tonight and how much he wanted to get back to doing what he does best – winning – but he told us anyway. Or, to be more specific, he showed us.
Mo Farah, photo by PhotoRun.net
With 50 metres to run, as Farah powered past Ethiopian youngster Yomif Kejelcha and looked to the stands, to the public, to the media, he urged them to raise the volume with his right hand and then began punching the air and thumping his chest.
In his eyes was a look of ferocity – the frustration he’s encountered over the last six weeks all bubbling up to the surface and emerging in a raw display of aggression. Farah thumped his chest again several times as he crossed the line to win in 13:11.77, one second clear of Kejelcha (13:12.59).
“I had a great finish,” said Farah. “I’m happy with the way the race went today.”
As expected, Farah then alluded to the fact that his performance and celebration were meant to make a statement to those who had the cheek to question him and his relationship with embattled coach Alberto Salazar over the last six weeks.
“This victory is a way to answer some of the critics regarding my coach that came out lately,” he said, shortly before bolting out of the mixed zone, keen to avoid more prying questions from an inquisitive press.
If proof were needed that Farah is now ready for the World Championships in Beijing, that the off-the-track troubles weren’t affecting his athletic prowess, then he delivered it throughout the course of his 54.44-second last lap.
Mo Farah, photo by PhotoRun.net
With temperatures almost ideal for a fast 5,000m time, but a strong breeze making few of the athletes interested in chasing one, the field sat well off the pacemakers for the first half of the race.
Kenya’s Geoffrey Barusei went through 2,000m in 5:36, with Farah sitting in the pack four seconds behind. With three laps to run, the Briton sauntered up to the front of the pack, taking the lead and looking to control the race the way he has done so effectively in the past.
Kejelcha covered the move, running on Farah’s shoulder, with Kenya’s Caleb Ndiku also making sure he got into prime position for the last-lap burn-up. With 550m to run, though, all that shuffling caused a collision of legs deep in the pack and Yenew Alamirew and Ndiku hit the floor, their races effectively ended in an instant.
With that, Farah and Kejelcha were left alone at the front as they took the bell, Farah taking the inside line and looking effortless as he took the occasional glance behind.
With 250m to run, Kejelcha moved past and for an instant, it looked as if Farah may be struggling, such was the lack of reaction to the Ethiopian’s move. Farah, though, had everyone fooled and after taking another glance behind, he settled into the slipstream of Kejelcha and began to close the gap again around the final bend.
Mo Farah, photo by PhotoRun.net
With 80 metres to run, Farah moved wide and got into sprint mode – pumping his arms like pistons, his eyes dead-set straight ahead and his gargantuan stride eating up the track.
He moved past the Ethiopian looking as if he had several more gears to use if they were required.
They weren’t.
After he crossed the line, Farah shook hands with many of his competitors, few of whom must have been happy to see him return from such an apparently troubling period in such apparently unbeatable form.
Before tonight, the prospect of Farah retaining both his 5,000m and 10,000m world titles in Beijing appeared a distinct possibility, but by no means a foregone conclusion. What we saw tonight has changed all that.
With six weeks to go, Farah taking double gold and continuing his reign at the top of world distance running once again appears an inevitability.
