New York, March 17- Mo Farah insists that his preparations for next month’s London marathon remain on track despite reports that he was unconscious for three minutes after collapsing at the end of the New York City half-marathon.
Farah was given emergency medical treatment at the finish before being taken away in a wheelchair.
Earlier he tripped up at the six-mile mark, losing time on the Kenyan winner, Geoffrey Mutai, before finishing second. He blamed the effort of trying to catch up with Mutai and the sub-zero conditions in New York for his collapse. “I’m all right,” he said. “It’s fine. It’s not a big deal.”
Farah was in about third place in a group of eight athletes when he was accidentally tripped. He forward rolled, senses understandably groggy, before slowly recovering his stride. But Mutai and his compatriot Stephen Sambu were already 25 metres clear, and quickly kicked on.
“I would have done exactly the same thing if I was him in the race,” Farah admitted.
Mutai, who will face Farah at April’s London Marathon on April 13, took the honours in 1:00:50 with the gold medallist from London and Moscow who Tweeted saying ‘I feel good.’ coming home in 1:01:07.
Daegu Worlds silver medallist, Sally Kipyego, a Kenyan living in Oregon, won the women’s race with a time of 1:08.30.
Farah collapsed and was taken away in a wheelchair after finishing second in Sunday’s race.
A second runner also crumbled to the pavement and suffered a heart attack moments after he crossed the finish line around 9:40 a.m., officials said.
The 43-year-old Midtown east man was rushed to New York Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital in critical but stable condition, cops and race officials said.
The Somali-born Farah, 30, told onlookers afterwards that his collapse was “not a big deal.” He did not require hospital care, according to reports.
“I feel good. I just tried so hard in the race,” Farah said.
The Olympic champion first stumbled awkwardly near the six-mile mark but continued on.
He finished the 13.1-mile race in 1:01.07 behind winner Mutai of Kenya, who ended at 1:00.50.
Mutai and Farah, who won two Olympic gold medals in 2012, are set to challenge each other again in the London Marathon next month.
Stephen Sambu from Kenya came in third.
As for the women’s race, Sally Kipyego, a Kenyan who lives in Oregon, won in 1:08.30, a record for the race.
She was followed by Buzunesh Deba, an Ethiopian who lives in the Big Apple.
– By New York Times