Sir Mo Farah has admitted his career as an elite track athlete is almost certainly over after he endured a shock defeat by a club runner who had to pay £37 entry fee to compete at the Vitality London 10,000 on Monday.
During a career which has included four Olympic gold medals and six world titles, Farah has been renowned for his blistering sprint finish. But he had nothing in the tank when the 25-year-old competitor Ellis Cross, who was not part of the elite field and wore a bib with No 219 on it rather than his name, kicked for home in the shadow of Buckingham Palace.
After finishing in 28min 44sec – a minute outside his best time on the road, and four seconds behind Cross – Farah offered a brutal assessment when asked if he had to accept that his track career was done.
“I think for sure,” he said. “I’m just being honest with you guys. In terms of track that’s it, I think.”
The 39-year-old athlete later rowed back slightly on those remarks, saying that while he would definitely miss the world championships in July he was not completely giving up on competing at the Commonwealth Games or the European Championships in August.
But, tellingly, Farah also admitted: “I’m not a spring chicken any more. You just can’t come back from each session. I’ve got a lot of work to get back into it and race again and be in decent shape.”
There was at least an explanation for his poor performance with Farah revealing he had not only sustained a stress fracture in his foot but had also torn his quad over the winter, which prevented him from running for three months – although he refused to blame that for his defeat in a modest field consisting of domestic athletes.
Farah also paid tribute to Cross – who runs for Aldershot, Farnham and District AC, works in the Up & Running shop in Surbiton and coaches young kids – for his performance. “It must have been 20 years, at least, since I was beaten by a club runner,” Farah said.
“It’s been a while. But fair credit to him. He was very determined.
“Some athletes kind of look at you, but he didn’t fear anyone. I think that’s a good attitude to have. The reality is, this is where I am. I look at the race and I couldn’t change gears. I just didn’t have that.”
Cross, meanwhile, was revelling in the £2,000 winner’s cheque – the first individual prize of his career – having had to stump up the entry fee to compete with thousands of other runners on the streets of London.
“I didn’t get an elite entry,” he said. “I got turned down for that. I had to sleep in my own bed, wake at 6am and take the train in. I don’t have my name on my bib. When I was running round everyone was calling Mo’s name because they know who he is. No one knows who I am. I’m just a club runner.”
Cross was talented enough to win national junior cross-country titles as a youngster, but he admitted the most he had expected was to finish in the top five. “To be honest, I’m still pinching myself,” he said. “I’ve just beaten arguably the greatest of all time on the streets of London in front of crowds. It is unbelievable. I didn’t expect it to happen.
“I haven’t followed the script have I? I didn’t believe it until 20 metres from the line when I thought: ‘I think I might be able to win this race,’ and just gave it absolutely everything I had. I tried to make it quite hard from two kilometres out because he’s renowned for his finish. I’m absolutely delighted.”
Meanwhile Farah admitted he would be talking to his wife, Tania Nell, about his future – but suggested that at the very least he would continue running on the roads for the time being. “We have those honest conversations and no one knows me better than my wife,” he said.
“I love the sport, it keeps me going. But in your mind you know you have to make that right decision.”
In the women’s race, Eilish McColgan was just two seconds away from breaking Paula Radcliffe’s 19-year-old European and British record in powering to victory.
McColgan, who finished in 30min 23sec and took the Scottish record from her mother, Liz, said: “I’m gutted to have missed the British record by a couple of seconds. I probably didn’t believe I could do it, so I went into the race thinking I’d be happy to run 31:40, but I’m in much better shape than I give myself credit for.”
