Victorious Farah thanks fans for faith in tough times

Mo Farah thanked the British public for supporting him through a difficult time after being roared to victory in the fastest 3000m time of the year at the London Diamond League meeting on Friday.

It was his first race on home soil since doping allegations were made against his coach Alberto Salazar.

Returning to the stadium where he won Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m gold in 2012, the 32-year-old pulled clear of his rivals with 300m to go, crossing the line in 7min 34.66sec with Othmane El Goumri of Morocco second in 7:36.71 and Kenya’s Emmanuel Kipsang third in 7:37.05.

The noise from the 40,000 crowd as Farah sprinted home brought back inevitable memories of London 2012 and helped to ease his frustration at the negative publicity he has attracted since the claims were made against Salazar last month.

"The crowd have been amazing with me,” he said. “To come out and support me like that after the last two months was amazing.

“It’s great to see the public understand and give me support.”

Asked about the allegations against Salazar, Farah replied: “I’m just focusing on my running.”

The Briton said that he would not be racing again before defending his World Championship 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Beijing next month.

“I’m pleased with tonight. I felt tired early on. It was important to try win the race and not think about times.”
Source: AFP