Mo has a road rival
TODAY’S ACTION
EVENING 7.05 7.10 7.20 8.05 8.25 8.50 8.55 9.33 9.50
3,000m steeplechase (w) heats Long jump (w) qualification Hammer (m) qualification A 5,000m (m) heats Shot put (w) Hammer (m) qualification B 200m (m) semi-final 400m hurdles (m) 400m hurdles (w)
FINAL FINAL FINAL throw of 66.76m to beat Chinese pair Lingwei Li, who produced a personal best of 66.25m in the third round, and Huihui Lyu with 65.26m.
British team captain Eilidh Doyle reached the final of the 400m hurdles final as a fastest loser after finishing third in her semi in 55.33. MO FARAH’s decision to move to the roads will put him in a rare position of having a fellow Briton as one of his main rivals.
As Farah plots the beginning of the end of his track career in the 5,000m heats tonight, the marathon beckons Britain’s greatest runner.
And Katherine Merry believes it will set up thrilling domestic duels with Callum Hawkins, who has been one of the biggest plus-points of these championships after his superb fourth in the marathon.
“It is going to be interesting with Callum,” said Merry, Britain’s 2000 Olympic 400m bronze medallist and now a leading commentator. “There are potential head-to-heads on the roads with him and Mo.
“I am really intrigued by how Mo is going to do. He will be successful but will it be in terms of major championship medals, is he going to be fast on times? Just because he has been great on the track does not mean it is going to transfer to wonderful, super performances on the road.
“But one thing you can always say about Mo is he will get his teeth stuck into it because he thinks he can do some damage.”
Farah has proved himself on the roads before and next month bids for a fourth successive win in the Great North Run, a race Merry is taking part in herself as a Duracell Bunny pacer. For now though comes the start of his defence of the 5,000m title he is looking to win for a fourth time in a row as he chases a third long-distance double.
“Experience is everything,” said Farah. “If you’ve been in a situation before and done it, then it’s easier to deal with and that will help me massively.”