Farah wins in his final British fling
HE crossed for an easy win, did his Mobot routine and then dropped to kiss the floor. With that, Sir Mo Farah took off his British vest and handed it to Andy Butchart.
In Farah’s view, it was the passing of a baton, delivered with the message that ‘it is your time to shine’.
But even in the eyes of most, including the most loyal, ambitious Butcharts in Scotland, the talented 25-year-old is not going to win four Olympic gold medals and six world titles. That is simply a reflection that the other guy currently stands as one of the all-time track greats.
And now he is just about done. Farah’s 3,000 metres win here at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham was his last track race in this country. His Diamond League appearance in Zurich on Thursday will be his last on a track anywhere.
Thereafter, he takes his show to the road, looking to conquer the world’s marathons following six years of near-total dominance on the track.
There was always the possibility he might return for Britain as a marathon runner in major championships, but even that was largely dismissed yesterday, with Farah saying: ‘All I ever wanted to do as an athlete is run for Great Britain. It’s been incredible.
‘But I won’t be competing for Great Britain, in terms of major championships, I won’t be taking part. It feels a bit sad.
‘If I come and I’m the best at the marathon, I might compete, it depends. But as an athlete, the next couple of years, it’s going to take me at least two or three marathons to get it right, to learn from it, and it’s not easy.’
So a clean break, for which this Diamond League meet was the farewell bash, designed to avoid any kind of crashed party. Of the 13 men he lined up against, Farah held a combined 41-0 winning record.
From the pack of f challengers, Butchart put t up a decent fight, as could be expected from a runner who finished sixth in the 5,000m at the e Olympics last summer.r. But Farah won that final al and he won here, kickingg clear in the last 150 metres s as the Scot finishedd fourth.
The winning time wass 7min 38.64sec and it wass appropriate that the e entirety was spent in a downpour, given the clouds that have stalked Farah.
Those questions about his coach Alberto Salazar will go on for at least the duration of the ongoing United States Anti-Doping investigation, irrespective of Farah’s attempts to play down the American’s recent involvement in his work.
That extended to Salazar not being in London for the World Championships, where Farah took a 10,000m gold and the silver medal in the 5,000m. When Farah was asked yesterday why he appeared to be distancing himself from the coach who transformed his career, he said: ‘I answered most of the questions last week. I’m done. Today is about competing here, doing well and enjoying myself, being myself and normal.’ He was then referred to the
Sportsmail report last week that he had fallen out with ‘right-hand man’ Barry Fudge, the head of endurance at British Athletics who has worked closely with Salazar. Farah denied it, as he made his way for the exit.
For the 34-year-old, these questions are far out of his comfort zone and they draw angry responses.
But they are also questions that need to be asked of an athlete who, for all his incredible achieve- ments, works with a coach who is under an active investigation. An athlete whose biological passport was flagged as ‘suspicious’ in 2015, according to leaked documents from the world governing body, the IAAF, before being cleared in 2016.
For those reasons, it can never just be about his wins and motivational gestures. And it most likely won’t stop at the track either.