June 26, (THEWILL) – Dreams of a third go at the 10,000m gold for two-time winner of the event British athlete Mo Farah at the Tokyo Games were extinguished on Friday after the double champion missed out on a last-ditch qualification.
Farah, who ran to a gold podium finish at both the London and Rio Olympics, in 2012 and 2016 respectively, was running in a special trial race at the British Athletics Championships in Manchester, with the target of 27 minutes and 28 seconds to qualify.
His 19 seconds over that cutoff time meant that the 38-year-old’s struggle to overcome an ankle injury and get back into shape for Tokyo was not enough to punch him a ticket to the XXXLL Olympiad and a third shot at another gold medal.
Yet, Farah accepted his fate with grace and gratitude. In his post-race comments, he noted: “I’ve been lucky enough to have had the long career I’ve had. I’m very grateful but that’s all I had today.”
In his response to a question of whether he has run his final race with this loss, double-gold medalist replied: “If I can’t compete with the best I’m not just going there to finish in a final. Tonight shows it’s not good enough.”
In the Friday special trial race, Farah ran alongside training partner Bashir Abdi and pacemaker David McNeil within a field of 11 on the start line and was able to better his previous attempt, at the European 10,000m Cup in Birmingham, where he finished 22 seconds away from the target time.
Over the past few years, the renowned Olympian had stepped away from track running, switching his attentions to the marathon, but returned to the 10,000m with a view to retiring after Tokyo. It is left to be seen if he will return to the marathon or hang his racing boots.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
