British athletics legend Mo Farah ended his illustrious career by finishing fourth at the Great North Run 2023 half marathon on September 10.
Earlier this year, Farah revealed that he would retire after competing in the Great North Run. Wearing a bib bearing the words "Sir Mo", Farah completed the 21.0975km in 1 hour 3 minutes 28 seconds, finishing fourth.
Farah, a six-time Great North Run winner, was greeted by a standing ovation as he crossed the finish line. "There were a lot of things going through my head today," the 40-year-old told the BBC . "I wanted to finish my career in Newcastle. I've won six times and I came back here after winning the world championships and the Olympics.
Farah thanked fans for their support after finishing the Great North Run 2023 on September 10. Photo: Great Run
Farah is a superstar in the 5,000m and 10,000m races, winning four Olympic gold medals and six world championship gold medals. Born in 1983, the runner switched to long-distance races in 2017, and has competed in the London Marathon three times, with his best result being third place in 2018. Farah's best result in the marathon was winning the Chicago Marathon in a national record time of 2 hours 5 minutes 11.
However, the 40-year-old has not competed regularly in the past three years due to injury, and even suffered a shocking defeat to Ellis Cross - an amateur runner from a grassroots club - at the Vitality London 10K 2022. At that time, Farah finished second with a time of 28 minutes 44 seconds, 4 seconds slower than Cross and nearly a minute off his personal best (PB).
The British track legend admitted he has struggled with injuries in recent years and wants to spend more time with his family after retiring. Farah revealed he will stop running, including parkrun – a series of free 5km events for walkers, runners and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 22 countries.
"I'll be emotional because running is all I know," Farah said. "I've had so much fun, so many great moments. I'll definitely miss running, but you won't see me doing that. I'll be going to the gym, playing football, golfing. Now I just want to take a break and find something that can motivate me."
The Great North Run is the world’s biggest half marathon, taking place every year in the North East of England in September. Runners run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South Shields – a course designed by former Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist and BBC Sport commentator Brendan Foster. The first Great North Run was held in 1981 with 12,000 runners, a figure that rose to 54,000 in 2011.
At this year's event, Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola - the 2022 Eugene world marathon champion - finished first in 59 minutes and 58 seconds. Peres Jepchirchir won the women's race in 1 hour, 6 minutes and 45 seconds.
Hong Duy
Source link
Comment (0)