Mo Farah became the first British athlete to run under the hour barrier over 13.1 miles as he charged clear on the final bend to win the Lisbon half-marathon in 59min 32sec.
As Farah crossed the line he was so tired he got tangled in the finishing tape, cutting his knee. The blood was only superficial but his performance, which beat his personal best of exactly 60 minutes set at the Great North Run last year and also broke the European record by 20 seconds, left a much deeper mark.
Before Farah’s indoor 3,000m world record in Birmingham last month he had been accused by his team-mate Andy Vernon of running against weak opponents outside championship races. Not this time. There were six men in the field who were faster on paper than Farah and he beat them all.
“It feels amazing to break the British and European record,” he said. “I got massive support from the crowd which helped but it wasn’t easy, the guys made it tough.”
They certainly did. After eight miles Farah was 12 seconds behind the lead group before steadily closing the gap, mile by mile, and he overtook the Kenyan Micah Kemboi Kogo – who had won Olympic 10,000m bronze in 2008 – in the final few hundred metres to win by a second. Another Kenyan, Stephen Kosgei Kibet, was third in 59.58.
Farah’s performance ranks only as the joint 105th fastest half-marathon time in history but given the race was run in a swirling wind that would have slowed the runners down he was right to be delighted with his performance.
He turns 32 on Monday but appears in prime form as he prepares to defend his world 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Beijing later this year.
The women’s race was won in 1:08:22 by the Kenyan Rose Chelimo who sprung a surprise in beating her compatriot Priscah Jeptoo, who was third in 1:09.21. The Portuguese athlete Sara Moreira split the pair, running 1:09.18.
