Kenya ban would help me, says Mo
Farah to take advantage in Rio
MO FARAH believes a ban on all Kenyan athletes taking part in the Rio Olympics would make his life easier on the track — and it is tough luck if innocent runners miss out because of doping by their compatriots.
The prospect of Kenya being banned has been mooted by Lord Coe, president of athletics’ world governing body the IAAF, after the nation missed a deadline to prove it is tackling cheating in track and field.
Kenya has two months to bring in new legislation and increase funding for anti- doping or its athletes will be deemed non-compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code and suspended from competing in Brazil.
Farah, 32, won Olympic 5,000 metres gold ahead of bronze medallist Thomas Pkemei Longosiwa of Kenya at London 2012, where he also fended off competition from three Kenyan athletes to triumph in the 10,000m.
Speaking ahead of his appearance over 3,000m at the Indoor Grand Prix in Glasgow today, Farah said: ‘As British athletes, we have rules. I wish they (in Kenya) could follow that rule. If Kenya’s not in it (the Olympic Games), it makes things easier for me.’
He delivered that line with a wry smile but was serious. When winning world championship gold in the 10,000m in Beijing last year, Farah’s fiercest rivals were the Kenyans finishing in second, third and fourth. In the 5,000m, the silver went to another Kenyan.
‘You don’t want to wish it on athletes who haven’t done anything wrong,’ Farah (right) said of a ban.
‘(But) as a country, they just have to follow the rules. But if they can’t follow that rule, then tough on them. You have to set an example.’
Two of Farah’s fellow 2012 Tough talking: Mo Farah home heroes from ‘Super Saturday’, Greg Rutherford and Jessica EnnisHill, have pulled out of this weekend’s action, but young British stars competing will include sprinters Dina Asher-Smith, 20, and Adam Gemili, 22, running in their respective 60m races.
‘London was incredible. Greg, Jess and myself, the whole nation got behind us and you can never top that again,’ Farah said.
‘Everything changed, my whole career, to come away with two gold medals in my hometown in front of 80,000 people. That’s what keeps me going every day. It makes me train.
‘The Olympics is where it’s at. Rio will be incredible. We’re hopefully going to have a good team with good youngsters, like Dina and Adam. Anything can happen.’
Asher-Smith was absent from the pre-event press conference because she had more pressing matters in London — lectures that are part of her history degree at King’s College.
In Glasgow she will be up against Dutch 200m world champion Dafne Schippers, who said of the Briton: ‘She’s a big talent. Very good. Very young, but making good strides.’
Gemili is still coming back from an injury sustained in Birmingham last year on the first occasion he ran the 100m under 10 seconds. But he reiterated that his ambition remains to topple sprinting’s two biggest names, Usain Bolt and Justin Gatlin, and become No 1 in the world. ‘When I first came into the sport, just to be in the field was good,’ said Gemili. ‘But now I’m doing the sport full-time and I want to be the best, outlandish and ridiculous as that sounds. If you’re aiming for second best you’re only going to be second best.’