Fall guy Farah still on course for gold No 4
THE angry patch of raw skin on Mo Farah’s shoulder is a legacy of the fall that could nearly have cost him gold in the 10,000metres.
He nearly took another tumble in the close bunching around the final bend of his 5,000m qualifier yesterday, although that seemed the only thing that might have stopped him reaching saturday night’s final.
all part of what he described as the ‘nerve-wracking’ process of re-setting himself after the triumph at the longer distance in order to give himself the best chance of another olympic double.
When asked if opponents were ganging up on him, he replied: ‘as always,’ but he puts his vulnerability to falling more down to his running technique.
‘I’ve got such a long stride so I find it hard, getting tripped up or tangled up with someone, but I managed to stay on my feet,’ said Farah, who uses a balancing ball in training to help him prepare for such an eventuality.
That was his only scare as he came in third to secure an automatic place in the final, which will not feature any of his Kenyan rivals. aside from nursing his shoulder, the biggest challenge has been putting the events of last saturday behind him.
‘It was quite nerve-wracking again — just getting yourself back in the zone,’ he said. ‘sometimes you just take yourself away from it. That’s what I did a little bit after I won, the normal stuff you go through emotionally and I think this is a wake-up now to say: “Look, this job isn’t done yet”.
‘now I have to recover, just lock myself in my room and get ready for this final. I was a little bit tired today. I think it’s just because of the heat and having run the 10km, and also mentally. In the 10km, I was on the edge — nothing was going to get in my way. so I just need to get back in the zone. My shoulder, when I sleep at night it hurts me a bit but it’s all right.’
Farah admitted that he was taken aback by the number of runners in his heat, leading to some of the congestion, saying: ‘There were quite a lot. I was quite surprised actually because when I did it in Beijing, there were three heats.
‘It’s the safer option to have three heats rather than two, but that’s the way it is. You just have to deal with it.’
His biggest challenge on saturday will come from the ethiopians, especially yesterday’s heat winner Hagos Gebrhiwet. But Farah believes he can repeat his feat of four years ago.
‘It’s possible but you look at the guys and they are ready for me, no one is going to give it to you. I just have to get myself back in that frame of mind and get ready. I’m still hungry and still want it, which is the most important thing.’
He remains a long way ahead of the men’s 4x100m relay team in being the best bet from track and field to add to Team GB’s overall medal haul.
‘In London we thought it was home advantage but coming here, we have improved,’ he said. ‘The London olympics has helped us, not just in athletics but all sport, look at the medal table. everybody is inspiring each other. In terms of track and field we’ve still got a little bit left.’
Indeed, there will be two British entrants in the 5,000m final, with scotland’s andrew Butchart coming fifth in the second heat after leading much of the way.
‘on the home straight I could see there were only five of us,’ said the man from dunblane. ‘so I kind of relaxed on the home straight which was nice.’