Mo Farah wins 10,000m to complete stunning night for Britain

Golden Mo-ment! Farah wins 10,000m to complete stunning night for Britain

By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 21:47, 4 August 2012 | UPDATED: 22:24, 4 August 2012 

On a day of jubilant British elation, Mo Farah's breathtaking triumph in the 10,000 metres just about capped the lot.

A nerveless, scintillating 25 laps thrilled from starting gun to finish line as Farah was roared home by a partisan crowd, unable to comprehend the full splendour of what they had witnessed in the Olympic Stadium.

And when his stepdaughter Rihanna ran on to the track clutching a Union Jack to embrace him, followed by his wife Tania, if there was a dry eye in the house they must have had ice in their veins.

Stunned: Mo Farah crosses the line to win the 10,000m title at the London Olympics

Go Mo Go. From the bouncing bedlam of the Olympic Stadium in London to the Twittersphere, a nation's hopes and dreams rested on his slim shoulders: could Mo Farah crown the most sensational day for Britain in Olympic history for more than a century?

This was 10,000 metres of nail-biting tension, after Jess Ennis and Greg Rutherford had already raised the excitement to fever pitch levels.

Waiting game: Farah (second right) stalks the leader as he prepares to make his move in the 10,000m

Happy families: Farah celebrates with his daughter Rihanna after winning gold

Farah knew he had the fastest finish - a 53secs last lap in his armoury - and the only question was whether his opponents would try to unsettle him by raising the pace.

Keeping his nerve was the key - with 16 laps to go the leaders had opened up a 20-yard gap but Farah did not budge from his game plan and kept in the pack and out of trouble.

Hard at work: Mo Farah runs in the 10,000m at the Olympic Stadium in London

With three laps to go, the Ethiopians tried to take it on, but Farah went with them, a dozen others on his heels as the stadium went madder and madder.

Last lap and he hit the front, a crescendo of noise driving him home to cross the line - with his training partner Galen Rupp of the United States in silver - and send the stadium into delirium.

A moment of disbelief, and then the smile flashed like the thousands of cameras in the Olympic Stadium.

Sealed with a kiss: Farah celebrates with his wife Tania and daughter Rihanna

For Farah, this was a medal that had been earned the hard way, through sheer physical graft - 100 miles a week - and a mental toughening process that did not come easy to someone so naturally happy-go-lucky.

Beijing was the turning point, when he was brought up short by his failure to qualify for the 5,000m final. Farah has come such a long way since then; physically, psychologically and personally.

The good-time guy who loved to party with his friends and stay up into the early hours, decided to knuckle down, helped by a new-found maturity perhaps brought on by the birth of his daughter and the drive of Tania, and the canny advice of his American coach Alberto Salazar.

Royal acclaim: Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge cheer on Mo Farah

The journey since Beijing had been long and arduous: months and months spent at altitude in the Kenyan highlands not so far from Somalia, the land of his birth.

This is the boy who came out of Africa and into British hearts.

MO FARAH FACTFILE

1983: March 23 - Born in Mogadishu, Somalia. He would arrive in Britain as a refugee at the age of eight.

2001: Wins first major title by winning the 5,000 metres at the European Junior Athletics Championships in Athens.

2006: Wins silver in the 5,000m at the European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. Wins the European Cross Country Championship in December of the same year.

2007: Finishes sixth in the 5,000m at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.

2008: Fails to reach the final of the 5,000m at the Beijing Olympics.

2009: Breaks the British 3,000m record twice in a matter of weeks early in the year and goes on to take gold in the same event at the European Indoor Championships. Finishes seventh in the 5,000m at the World Championships in Berlin, the top European.

2010: July 27 - Wins the 10,000m at the European Championships in Barcelona.
July 31 - Completes a distance running double by claiming gold in the 5,000m.
August 19 - At a Diamond League meeting in Zurich, sets a new British record with a time of 12:57.94 in the 5,000m.

2011: February - Announces he is relocating to Portland, Oregon, to train under Alberto Salazar.
February 19 - Sets a British indoor record with a time of 13:10.60 in the 5,000m at Birmingham.
March 5 - Wins gold in the 3,000m at the European Indoor Championships.
March 20 - Wins the NYC Half Marathon with a time of one hour 23 seconds after entering late when a planned 10,000m event in New Zealand was cancelled due to earthquake damage.
June 3 - Sets a new British and European record of 26:46.57 to win the 10,000m at a Diamond League meeting in Eugene.
July 22 - Sets a British record of 12:53.11 in the 5,000m at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco.
August 28 - Wins 10,000m silver at the World Championships in Daegu.
September 4 - Wins 5,000m gold at the World Championships in Daegu.

2012: March 11 - Misses out on a medal in the 3,000m at the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, finishing fourth.
June 2 - Runs fastest 5,000m of the year, clocking 12:56.98 to win the Diamond League race in Eugene, beating Olympic champion and world record holder Kenenisa Bekele.
June 27 - Becomes the first man to retain the 5,000m title at the European Championships by winning gold in Helsinki.
August 4 - Wins the 10,000m Olympic title at London 2012.

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