London Marathon next for Farah after Great North Run win

LONDON: Britain’s Mo Farah announced he will compete in the 2018 London Marathon after winning the Great North Run for a record-breaking fourth successive year.

It will be Farah’s third London Marathon after he took part in the event in 2013 and 2014.

“I can’t wait to start a new adventure racing on the roads in 2018, starting with the world’s greatest marathon,” he said.

“The London Marathon is my home race and it is so special to me.

“The previous times I have taken part were amazing.”

Just hours earlier, Farah, a fourtime Olympic champion, saw off a determined challenge from New Zealand’s Jake Robertson in the closing stages of the Great North Run to finish in a time of 1’00:06.

The 34-year-old is the first athlete to win the Great North Run four times in a row.

He is now level in terms of most victories with Kenya’s Benson Masya, who was champion four times in the 1990s.

Farah, who last month finished his glittering track career with a thrilling 5,000m victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich, produced his trademark ‘Mobot’ celebration in Newcastle as he crossed the line.

Robertson was six seconds back in second place, with Ethiopia’s Feyisa Lilesa coming third.

Farah told the BBC after his sea- son- concluding race: “That was really, really tough. I’m sore everywhere – I’ve never been this sore!

“With four miles to go I was just hanging on, gritting my teeth.

“As we got closer, I managed to believe in myself and dig, and I was thinking ‘if I can just sit on him (Robertson), at the end I can sprint’.

Farah won the 10,000m at the World Championships in London in August, his sixth world gold, before losing his 5,000m crown to Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris. — AFP