Mo Farah in the 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in London (Kirby Lee) © Copyright
LONDON, United Kingdom, Oct 24 – Double world and Olympic champion Mo Farah has confirmed that his race at the Müller Anniversary Games on Sunday 9 July 2017 will be his last at the IAAF Diamond League fixture in the British capital.
“2017 will probably be my last year competing on the track so I’m really looking forward to running in front of my home fans in London,” said Farah, who successfully defended both his 5000m and 10,000m Olympic titles at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“It will be a very important competition for me in the build up to the world championships so hopefully I can run well and put on a great show for the fans.”
The most decorated British athlete of all time produced his first double Olympic gold at the London Stadium in 2012 and most recently set this season’s world leading 5000m performance at the meeting’s 2016 edition, clocking 12:59.29.
“The Olympic Stadium holds great memories for me and with the World Championships returning next year it will be great to run there in July at the Anniversary Games.”
With his heroics in Rio last August, Farah became only the second man to win the 5000m and 10,000m Olympic ‘double double’.
He’s also won both events at the last two editions of the world championships, adding an even stronger focus to the distance programmes at both the Müller Anniversary Games and IAAF World Championships London 2017.
Niels de Vos, Chief Executive of UK Athletics, said, “With tickets for Farah’s events at the 2017 World Championships having sold out, this is the last chance for the British public to see Mo compete at the scene of his magnificent double Olympic gold triumph.”
Notable too is that Farah has never been beaten on the London stadium track.
2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar
5 May – Doha, QAT
13 May – Shanghai, CHN
27 May – Eugene, USA
8 Jun – Rome, ITA
15 Jun – Oslo, NOR
18 Jun – Stockholm, SWE
1 Jul – Paris, FRA
6 Jul – Lausanne, SUI
9 Jul – London, GBR
16 Jul – Rabat, MAR
21 Jul – Monaco, MON
20 Aug – Birmingham, GBR
24 Aug – Zurich, SUI
1 Sep – Brussels, BEL
