Farah lights it up in blazing adieu to home crowd
BIRMINGHAM, England — British athletics legend Mo Farah began Sunday by taking a lap of honor in a Bentley convertible and ended it by giving the crowd the victory they craved in his final race on home turf.
The 34-year-old, who the previous week fell just short of a third straight distance double in London, taking silver in the 5,000m at the world championships, cruised home in the 3,000m at the Birmingham Diamond League meet with a time of 7min, 38.64sec.
For a final time in Britain — he runs in Zurich on Wednesday before embarking on a road-running career — Farah knelt to the ground and kissed the track before adorning himself bare-chested with the Union Jack.
“It’s been an amazing week,” said Farah. “I have been tired but I had a little downtime with family.
“Emotion was high, not as high as London but it was the last time at home.
“While I was racing I was just trying to think about the race and who was there.
“It means everything to me to be a four-time Olympic champion (2012-16 doubles); all I dreamed of as a youngster was running for Britain,” added Farah, who came to Britain aged eight with his mother and two of his brothers from war-torn Somalia.
“A hobby has become a job, which is what you want. Going to the road will be a new game and a new mindset. I am excited.”
Meanwhile, Jamaican double Olympic individual sprint champion Elaine Thompson put a disappointing performance in the 100m final in London behind her to win the Birmingham race in 10.93sec.
“It was important to pick myself up and come back,” she said.
Thompson’s bitter rival Dafne Schippers, the 200m world champion in London, finished down the field.
There was to be frustration for Adam Gemili in the men’s 100m — an all-British affair — as the man credited with running the decisive leg in their epic 4x100m relay world victory was DQ’d for a false start.
“It’s the first time that has happened to me in my career. I feel like I have let so many people down,” he said.
“It’s not the world championships but I would still like to apologize to everyone.”
CJ Ujah — another member of the victorious 4x100m quartet — won the race, for his fourth victory of the season on the circuit.
American star Aries Merritt bounced back from his fifth place in the 110m hurdles world final — though he said it felt like a victory having had a kidney transplant just two years ago — to win the event on Sunday.
The 31-year-old held off the late charge of world silver medalist Sergey Shubenkov in a race that featured six of the world finalists — though two were disqualified for false starts including Frenchman Garfield Darrien.
“I wouldn’t call it good,” said Merritt.
“I would say a lot of us are very tired from the championships. These gentlemen are world class, so it is always good to get a win against them.”
Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim produced a great jump of 2.40 meters for the world’s leading mark of the year and the newly crowned world champion took the bar as a bonus.