Hawkins wants Mo battle after finishing fourth

Callum Hawkins said he was relishing the chance to battle sir mo Farah in the marathon from next year after finishing an impressive fourth at yesterday’s world Championships.

The scot admitted to mixed emotions, despite equalling the best-ever finish by a British man in the event, and the best in 22 years since Peter whitehead’s performance in Gothenburg.

The 25-year-old, ninth at last year’s Olympics in Rio, clocked a personal best two hours 10 minutes 17 seconds as he crossed the finish line at Tower Bridge 26 seconds off bronze.

kenya’s Geoffrey kirui took victory on the course, which consisted of four 10km loops on closed roads, in 2hrs 8mins 27secs. Ethiopia’s Tamirat Tola claimed silver and alphonce Felix simbu of Tanzania bronze.

‘i was wanting to maybe sneak a medal and to actually see it as i was finishing was a bit tough,’ said Hawkins. ‘But i gave it my all and i couldn’t ask for anything more performance wise.

‘i knew i could be close to a medal, but there are some quality athletes. usually the big guys don’t quite turn up, but they all turned up.’

Hawkins finished strongly, picking athletes off late in the race after deciding not to go with the leaders when they made a move at the halfway point.

‘i should have maybe held them a bit closer when that big move went, but it was a huge move,’ said Hawkins, who dropped out of his last race, a half-marathon in the Czech Republic in June, after battling illness.

‘But, if i had, i would have been almost walking towards the end.’

Hawkins’ sense of slight frustration at missing out on a medal is a clear sign of his confidence — and he is determined to give Farah a run for his money when the 10-time global track champion takes to the roads full-time.

‘Hopefully he’ll be seeing my back,’ joked Hawkins.

‘He’s a quality athlete and hopefully it’ll be a good head-to-head.’ THE USA’s Tori Bowie produced a stunning finish to win the women’s 100 metres final. The 26-year-old edged out Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast with a final dip on the line, while Olympic champion Elaine Thompson faded to fifth.