Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

Kenya

Tanui settles for silver as Farah defends title despite fall

The plan by the Kenyan trio of two-time World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, Tanui and world silver medallist Bedan Karoki to pin down Farah didn’t work/AFP

The plan by the Kenyan trio of two-time World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, Tanui and world silver medallist Bedan Karoki to pin down Farah didn’t work/AFP

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 14 – The elusive men’s 10,000m Olympics gold has once again slipped the Kenyans as world bronze medallist Paul Tanui bagged silver behind defending champion Briton Mo Farah who retained the title early Sunday.

Mo Farah overcame a tumble to win the race in 27:05.17 and become the third man in history to retain the Olympic title after Ethiopians Kenenisa Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie.

The plan by the Kenyan trio of two-time World Half Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor, Tanui and world silver medallist Bedan Karoki to pin down Farah didn’t work as the Briton, who took charge of the race at the bell, burst to the finish line for the historic win.

Favourite Kamworor faded to 11th in 27.31.94 while Karoki finished seventh in 27:22.93.

Farah, who ran at the middle of the pack for the better part of the race, tumbled in the 10th lap after being clipped by American training partner Galen Rupp, but the experienced athlete brilliantly recovered to close on the pack.

The 34 runners at the Olympic Stadium went through the first five laps at a steady pace, Farah working his way to the front after at first coasting at the back of the pack.

Ethiopian pair of Tola and Yigrem Demelash immediately responded, Farah falling in with Rupp and exchanging a few words with his training partner under Oregon-based Alberto Salazar.

But the Briton recovered quickly and flashed the American a thumbs-up as he re-found his rhythm behind Tola, Tanui and Kamworor.

At the halfway mark, the field began to break up, the Kenyan duo taking up the front running.
Team tactics then showed through, the third Kenyan when Karoki accelerated to the front.

His compatriots Kamworor and Tanui swept along with him with Farah looking comfortable in fourth as the pack slowed after the latest surge.

Demelash moved past Farah with six laps to run, another increase in the pace of the leading pack proving tough for anyone out of the top 10.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Farah, a regular competitor over 1,500m to improve his speed work, led with two laps to run, holding off Tanui on his shoulder with Rupp behind him.

The Briton was passed by Tanui after going through the bell, but Farah held his nerve as a grimacing Tanui faded to time 55.37sec for the final lap.

Farah, the double Olympics and world champion, will be back on the track next week when he looks to defend the 5,000m title he won at London 2012.

Should he win that race, he will become the first man since Finland’s Lasse Viren in 1976 to retain two Olympics distance titles.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News