The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mo Farah

  • Mo Farah to compete against Usain Bolt

    Mo Farah’s long-awaited duel with Usain Bolt has been confirmed, but not in the sport most of us were hoping.

    The athletics superstars will swap spikes for boots and go head-to-head in a charity football match at Old Trafford in June.

    Farah, who will play for England, cheekily told his Jamaican rival via Twitter: “Remember, it’s a marathon not a sprint”. Bolt will represent Soccer Aid World XI.

    The match (Soccer Aid for UNICEF) takes place just four days before the World Cup gets underway in Russia, with legends from sport and entertainment joining forces to raise money to help vulnerable children around the world.

    Farah and Bolt have previously discussed having an exhibition race over 600 metres, although it has yet to materialise.

    The British four-time Olympic champion ditched the track to pursue a career on the road this season, while eight-time Olympic gold medallist Bolt retired from athletics following the World Championships in London last summer.

     

  • Mo Farah Splits With Coach Salazar

    Mo Farah Splits With Coach Salazar

    Mo Farah has denied splitting with long-time coach Alberto Salazar because of drug related offences. The Somali-born star said he left his coach simply because he wanted to move back to London.
    In an interview with Sun Newspaper he said: “I’m not leaving the Nike Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar because of the doping allegations

    The 34-year-old Somalia-born star began training with Salazar in 2011 at his Oregon Project camp in Portland, and won his first world title the same year in the 5 000m at the Daegu World Championships.

    Farah is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history, he is the 2012 and 2016 Olympic gold medallist in both the 5000 m and 10,000 m, and is the second athlete in modern Olympic Games history, after Lasse Virén, to win both the 5000 m and 10,000 m titles at successive Olympic Games.

    Farah also completed the ‘distance double’ at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships in Athletics. He was the second man in history after Kenenisa Bekele, to win long-distance doubles at successive Olympics and World Championships, and the first in history to defend both distance titles in both major global competitions – a feat described as the ‘quadruple-double

     

  • Mo Farah: 10,000m title didn’t come cheap

    Mo Farah: 10,000m title didn’t come cheap

     

    Sir Mo Farah hailed the ‘greatest win’ of his career on the opening night of the World Championships – before ending his press conference early in order to get treatment for cuts.

    The brutal and physical nature of Farah’s thrilling 10,000m win was laid bare by the numerous cuts Brit’s left leg, which he revealed might need stitches after his battle with the East African contingent.

    He was twice tripped in a pulsating final lap before recovering to win his 10th global title in 26:49.53, ahead of Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei.

    The 34-year-old, five years on from winning the 10,000m gold at the London Olympics, said: ‘It was the greatest win. It was one of the toughest races of my life. The guys gave it to me.

    ‘It was about, “How do we beat Mo?” You had the Kenyans, you had the Ethiopians, you had the Ugandans, and everybody work as a team against me. Fair play to them. They worked their hardest and they chucked everything at me.

    ‘I just had to stay strong, believe in myself and think, “I didn’t work for nothing. I’m losing in my home town. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t”.’

    Farah, who will chase his seventh world title in the 5,000m next Saturday, added: ‘I am hurt. I just had to be strong now and see the doctors. I’ve got a few cuts and bruises but I just have to recover and get ready for the 5K. I’ve got enough days.’

  • Mo Farah trains with cattle in Ethiopian heat

    Mo Farah trains with cattle in Ethiopian heat

     

     

    Mo Farah is keeping himself ahead of the herd – by running alongside cattle in Ethiopia.

    Britain’s four-time Olympic gold medal-winning runner took to Instagram on Monday to post numerous photos of him enjoying his scenic run, with the caption: ‘Long run this morning…!!!’

    Farah can be seen running topless next to a herd of cows and alongside a man riding a horse in Ethiopia in the blazing-hot conditions.

    Farah recently reiterated his stance that he is innocent of any drug-related cheating and that he is happy for his historical samples to to be retested if to prove it.

    The 33-year-old is in the spotlight after renewed attention following a leaked copy of a report by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), which raised new concerns over the methods used by Farah’s coach Alberto Salazar.

    Eyebrows have been raised by a claim in the USADA report that Farah had received an infusion of L-carnitine – a legal substance, but only in certain small doses.

    Reportedly, USADA have asked their UK equivalent to retest Farah’s samples.

    ‘I’m not aware of any request,’ Farah responded.

    ‘But as I’ve said many times, I’m happy to be tested anytime, anywhere and have any of my samples tested or retested now or at any time in the future, by any official body.’

  • Bolt, Farah, Thompson among 2017 Laureus awards nominees

    Bolt, Farah, Thompson among 2017 Laureus awards nominees

    Olympic champions Usain Bolt, Mo Farah and Elaine Thompson are among the nominees announced for the 2017 Laureus World Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year Awards.

    A statement on the website of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) on Thursday said that Bolt was a three-time winner of the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award.

    The statement said he successfully defended his Olympic 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay titles to leave Rio as one of the 2016 Olympic Games’ biggest heroes.

    It added that the 30-year-old Jamaican received the honour in 2009, 2010 and 2013.

    It said that Farah, 33, successfully defended his Olympic titles at 5000m and 10,000m to become only the second man to achieve the back-to-back “double double’’ over the distances.

    Thompson, who won the Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Rio and U.S. sprinter Allyson Felix, the Olympic 400m silver medallist are nominated for the World Sportswoman of the Year Award.

    It said that elsewhere, Almaz Ayana of Ethiopia and South African Wayde van Niekerk were nominated for the World Breakthrough of the Year award.

    Both set world records in Rio, Ayana in the 10,000m and van Niekerk in the 400m. In December, Ayana and Bolt were named Athletes of the Year and the IAAF Athletics Awards 2016.

    Ruth Beitia, Spain’s Olympic and European high jump champion was among the nominees in the Comeback of the Year category.

    Outside of athletics, tennis star Andy Murray, NBA stars LeBron James and Stephen Curry were also nominated in the men’s category.

    Other women nominated for the top honour include gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky of the U.S., German tennis star Angelique Kerber and British cyclist Laura Kenny.

    The statement said that the nominees were selected following a ballot by the world’s sports media.

    It added that the winners will be announced at the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony on Feb. 14 in Monaco, Spain.

  • Farah doubles up at Commonwealth Games

    Farah doubles up at Commonwealth Games

    Mo Farah will bid to add double Commonwealth Games gold to his accolades after being named to run for England in both the 5 000 and 10 000m at next month’s multi-sport event.

    Running for Britain, Farah won both the 5 000 and 10 000m gold medals at the 2012 London Olympic Games before completing the same double at the following year’s World Championships in Moscow.

    The marathon opens the athletics programme in Glasgow on July 27, with the 5 000m final that same evening and the 10,000m being run on August 1.

    Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Adam Gemili will spearhead the English team’s 100 metres bid after Chijindu Ujah was omitted as expected.

    Ujah clocked Britain’s third-fasted 100m running 9.96 seconds in Holland on June 8, but the 2013 European junior champion’s stunning time fell outside the Commonwealth Games qualifying period.

    Richard Kilty completes England’s men’s 100m ranks, with Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford and heptathlete Katarina

    Johnson-Thompson medal favourites among the 129-strong squad.

    Veteran Philips Idowu has been selected for the triple jump, and Dwain Chambers for the men’s 4x100m relay.