It remains one of the outstanding images of London 2012: Mo Farah, flooded with adrenaline and joy, crossing the line in the 10,000m and tumbling to his feet in prayer. The moment capped 46 minutes of delirium inside the Olympic Stadium and it made Farah – along with his fellow Super Saturday gold medallists Jessica Ennis and Greg Rutherford – a household name.
Rarely has Farah been more elegant, or wistful, than when he was asked about what that victory meant after racing in the London Stadium last month. “This is where my life changed,” he said softly. “This is where I made my name. This is where it went from normal to ‘I’m Mo’ overnight. If I didn’t do what I did on this track, I wouldn’t matter would I?”
He has not stopped winning since. At least not in major championships. If he powers to another 10,000m gold on Friday night – and he is a prohibitive favourite to do so – he will have strung together an unprecedented 10 consecutive global track distance titles. To put that achievement into context, Haile Gebrselassie won six in a row at 10,000m, while Kenenisa Bekele’s run of consecutive 5,000m and 10,000m Olympic and world titles ended at four.
What makes Farah’s performances even more remarkable is that, having won his first world title in Daegu just before his 29th birthday, he has sustained that level. Even at 34 he does not appear to be losing any speed.
Nor has he been affected by a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation into his coach, Alberto Salazar, questions about his association with the controversial Somalian Jama Aden, or the scrutiny that came when he was named in a leak by the Russian hackers Fancy Bears last month. Again and again he has been able to shake it all off to focus on what he does best. Winning gold medals.
Listening to Neil Black, the UK Athletics performance director, on Thursday it was clear that Farah is in shape to rip through his rivals again.
“Every year certain things happen where it gets to a point where suddenly Mo knows that he’s ready,” Black said. “Last year it was the Anniversary Games, when he ran a 5,000m. This year it was probably about 12 days ago. He did something in training, without killing himself, that confirmed to him and the rest of us that he was ready. He then took his shoes off and said: ‘That’s it, job done’. You’ll see something special.”
Nor is Black not concerned about Salazar’s absence from the world championships. “If Mo was here alone, the result would be the same,” he said.
“The thing that is so special about Mo is he doesn’t need any of us. He can do it himself but he enjoys the fact other people want to work with him. We never have any concerns with who is, or who is not with him. We know Mo’s going to do it.”
Farah’s greatest challenge is likely to come from Geoffrey Kamworor, who finished second behind him at the 2015 world championships. The Kenyan is certainly confident, having insisted this week: “The preparation has gone well, and I feel I am in much better shape than I was in 2015 and 2016. At the last world championships I won silver but this time I won’t settle for that. I want to win gold and I’ll do anything possible to win.”
If Kamworor – or any of his compatriots – are to have a chance they need to attack Farah hard and early, something they have continually failed to do despite having years to formulate a winning strategy. If not, Farah will do what he always does: draught along until 600m to go before hitting the front, winding it up, and producing his killer kick with 150m remaining.
Next week Farah will go chasing another world title over 5,000m, which is likely to prove a tougher challenge, before heading to the lucrative marathon circuit. But even as he approaches his 35th birthday, Black insists the athlete’s fire burns as bright as ever.
“I’ve worked with and supported a young prankish boy, who called himself Mad Mo, since he was 15,” Black said. “To see someone develop from a kid who just loved sport and life to become a focused, determined, competitive being has been a massive pleasure. We will see again in these championships is that he hasn’t lost that passion.
“He’s someone who still combines having fun in life – being completely chilled and messing around with his kids, family and friends – with that focused determination to come and kill himself for this thing that means so much to him, which is winning. It’s about winning for Mo Farah.”
Winning is certainly his business. And, as we are likely to find out, business remains good.
