Farah targets one-hour world record in Brussels

File Photo: Olympic and World Champion long distance runner Mo Farah relaxes by an ancient English oak tree in Richmond Park, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain May 12, 2020. May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Four-times Olympic champion Mo Farah says he is targeting the one-hour world record at the AG Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels on Sept. 4, as he returns to the track for the first time since switching to road racing in 2017.

Athletes try to cover as much distance as possible in one hour in the event. The men's record of 21.285 km was set by Ethiopia's Haile Gebrselassie in Ostrava in 2007.

The Brussels event is part of the revamped calendar of athletics meetings announced by the Diamond League due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FILE PHOTO: Olympic and World Champion long distance runner Mo Farah exercises in Richmond Park, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in London, Britain May 12, 2020. Picture taken May 12, 2020. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

"Together with my training partner Bashir Abdi I'm going to attack the hour record at the AG Memorial Van Damme," Farah, 37, said in a statement https://brussels.diamondleague.com/nieuws/news/news/detail/News/bijzondere-ag-memorial-van-damme-wil-uurrecords-doen-sneuvelen on the event's website.

Ethiopian world half-marathon record holder Ababel Yeshaneh and Birhane Dibaba will attempt to break the women's record of 18.517km set by Dire Tune in 2008.

FILE PHOTO: Chicago Marathon - Chicago, Illinois, United States - October 13, 2019 Britain's Mo Farah after finishing eighth in the men's marathon REUTERS/Mike Segar

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)