Mo Farah revels in most satisfying gold

Omnisports

August 20, 2016 11:20 PM

"I don't know how I recovered." Mo Farah reflects on winning 5000m gold just a week after clinching the 10,000m title at Rio 2016.

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Mo Farah revelled in his most satisfying Olympic gold medal in the men's 5000 metre race at Rio 2016, citing the struggle he had in recovering from his victory in the 10,000m.

The Briton became the first man since Lasse Viren in 1972 and 1976 to complete a 'double-double' in the distance events, completing a superb victory over 5000m on Saturday.

Farah put on a typically strong finish to hold off Paul Chelimo - who was later disqualified - down the home stretch and repeat the feat he achieved on home soil at London 2012 four years ago.

His victory came a week after a dominant display in the 10,000m and the 33-year-old spoke of the difficulty he endured following that race.

"After the 10,000 my legs were a bit tired and I don't know how I recovered, I just had to stay in my room and people had to bring me food in my room and I just had to rest up," he told BBC Sport.

"But I can't believe it. It's unbelievable. I did it, I did it. It's every athlete's dream. It hasn't sank in."

Asked if the win was his most satisfying, Farah replied: "Yeah, definitely. It shows I didn't just fluke it in London, I did it again here.

"It's been incredible, I just want to go home now and see my beautiful kids and hang these medals around their neck."

Farah kept his composure despite the Ethiopian trio of Muktar Edris, Dejen Gebremeskel and Hagos Gebrhiwet - the eventual silver medallist - setting a fast pace in a bid to negate their rival's strong finish.

"I was surprised by the first lap, I thought it was going to be a slow race," said Farah.

"They [the Ethiopian athletes] had a plan, they wanted to take the sting out of me but when I hit the front, I wasn't letting anyone past me."

Omnisports

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