Farah feeling on top of the World after glory night
MO FARAH shrugged off doubts over his fitness and said he will be “better and fitter” to finish the job at the World Championships.
The Brit, 34, insists the leg injury sustained during his stunning 10,000m victory at the London Stadium on Friday night will not hinder his bid for more glory.
Farah had the 2012 Olympic venue rocking again as he defied rough, spoiling tactics from his African rivals to win his 10th major championship gold on another magical Mobot night.
Despite feeling sore from his efforts, Farah’s mind is firmly on his next challenge and claims he was always going to get better as the week progressed.
He said: “For me the 10k was always going to be the toughest of the two because I had not felt as fit and as ready going into these championships as I had previously.
“Now the first one is out of the way I’m really looking forward to the 5k. My fitness and strength are improving day by day. It’s going to be really tough but I’ve had the perfect start and I will be at my best for the 5k heats.”
Farah shrugged off the cuts and bruises to his leg he sustained during the opening night and said: “It was a problem during the race and I just had to deal with it.
“Races like that can be very physical and you have to try and keep calm and in control. I’ve now got plenty of time to get myself 100 per cent for the heats on Wednesday.”
Yesterday proved to be a real mixed bag for Britain’s big hope in the heptathlon, Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
The Liverpudlian suffered a high-jump meltdown and had her head in her hands after failing to clear 1.86m three times and having to settle for 1.80m.
She had earlier run her second-fastest 100m hurdles of 13.33secs but after the shot put, in which she scored just 692 points, she trailed Nafissatou Thiam by 163.
However, a win in the 200m – in 22.86secs – meant she clambered all the way from 13th to 4th overnight.
British trio Asha Philip, Desiree Henry and Daryll Neita all qualified for the women’s 100m semi-finals, while Sophie Hitchon, an Olympic bronze medallist, booked a place in the hammer final.
Matthew Hudson-Smith and Dwayne Cowan reached the men’s 400m semi-finals with times of 45.31secs and 45.39secs respectively but Martyn Rooney’s 45.75 saw him crash out. filling the seats praying they would say goodbye to sprinting’s most dominant force (right) in the perfect way.
But his lap of honour was one of defeat as he took the crowd’s applause for the last time as a solo athlete.
It was his first major final defeat of the gream man’s career since being disqualified in the 2011 World Championships and Bolt said: “It’s disappointing to lose and finish here like this.
“But the support has been fantastic and I appreciate all the crowd’s support.” Michael Johnson said: “I thought Bolt would be challenged but by Coleman not Gatlin.” Young Brit Reece Prescod, 21, finished a superb seventh having made his first Championship final and will grow in confidence and belief for the future.