November 22, 2024
Mo Farah wins for record third year in a row
Mo Farah does it again
FOUR-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah became the first man to win the Great North Run three times in a row.
Farah pulled away from American Dathan Ritzenhein in the last mile in his first race since retaining his 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic titles in Rio.
In the women’s race, Olympic 5,000m champion Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya won in her first half marathon.
Scotland’s Mark Telford took the men’s wheelchair crown, a second ahead of fellow Briton Bret Crossley.
The Great North Run is the world’s biggest half marathon and there were more than 41,000 runners taking part in this year’s event from 178 nations.
Farah, 33, was taken on a fast pace by former American 5,000m record holder Ritzenhein, but powered away with a mile to go and even had time to do a cheeky heel flip before he crossed the line in one hour and four seconds, the slowest of his three wins.
Belgium’s Emmanuel Bett, who ran the second half of the race almost on his own, crossed in third.
Farah told BBC Sport: “To be honest with you, I’m knackered.
“I knew I had to work hard because Dathan is a former training partner and was running a great race.
“He put his foot down and tried to get rid of me because he knew I have amazing pace.
“It’s good to finish the year on a high, what a year I’ve had. I just want to go home now, chill out, see the kids, get up to no good.”
The women’s race was billed as a shoot-out between middle distance greats Cheruiyot and three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba.
Dibaba failed to keep pace with Cheruiyot and fellow Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo in the closing stages of the 13.1-mile course. It was Cheruiyot who took victory, producing a sprint finish to clock 1:07.54, just one second ahead of Jeptoo.
Cheruiyot said: “I’m so happy because it’s my birthday. I found it tough with one kilometre to go but it’s fantastic for me to end my season this way.” BBC.COM
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