IAAF World ChampionshipsAug 29, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack
Mo Farah Wins 3rd Straight 5,000m World Title In 13:50.38
Mo Farah Wins 3rd Straight 5,000m World Title In 13:50.38
BEIJING - One of these days, the Kenyans and Ethiopians are going to learn that you can’t beat Mo Farah in a slow, tactical race.
Unfortunately for the them, Saturday in Beijing was not one of those days, as the 32-year-old Brit once again stormed away from his East African rivals with a stunning 1:48.6 last 800m to win his third consecutive 5,000m World title in 13:50.38. Farah’s last lap was clocked at 52.67-seconds as he powered past Kenyan Caleb Ndiku in the final 100m.
Farah also won the 10,000m final last Sunday in Beijing, and his sweep at these championships gives him three successive 10K/5K double golds at global championships. Of course, his title on Sunday was a much more honest effort, as the first half of that race was actually faster than tonight's result for the full 5K distance.
After a tough 10K less than a week ago, Farah was thrilled to be able to chill early in the 5K.
"I was really pleased early on when the pace was so slow, I was quite pleased because at one point I thought it might be slow through the first K, and the last 4K where they would've picked it up...Ndiku's a great athlete, he's a class athlete, he's still young...he did definitely test me," Farah said.
Farah's third 5,000m title is the most in World Championship history. The 32-year-old has now won seven straight global titles dating back to 2011.
The pace was brutally slow up until the final 1,000m, which Farah covered in a lightning quick 2:19. This rocket close by the champ was aided by a pedestrian first three kilometers, which the field slogged through in 8:47. Farah ran in dead last up until seven laps to go, at which point he asserted himself up to the front so that he could easily cover any moves in the last few laps.
The biggest challenge would come from Kenya's Ndiku, who started hammering to try and break Farah with two laps to go.
"Nobody wanted to push the pace and 800m to go everybody was in the pack and then I decided to split the pack by saving myself, earlier the better because I knew the last lap would be very fast. So I had to push hard to break the group," the Kenyan explained.
Farah also won the 10,000m final last Sunday in Beijing, and his sweep at these championships gives him three successive 10K/5K double golds at global championships. Of course, his title on Sunday was a much more honest effort, as the first half of that race was actually faster than tonight's result for the full 5K distance.
After a tough 10K less than a week ago, Farah was thrilled to be able to chill early in the 5K.
"I was really pleased early on when the pace was so slow, I was quite pleased because at one point I thought it might be slow through the first K, and the last 4K where they would've picked it up...Ndiku's a great athlete, he's a class athlete, he's still young...he did definitely test me," Farah said.
Farah's third 5,000m title is the most in World Championship history. The 32-year-old has now won seven straight global titles dating back to 2011.
The pace was brutally slow up until the final 1,000m, which Farah covered in a lightning quick 2:19. This rocket close by the champ was aided by a pedestrian first three kilometers, which the field slogged through in 8:47. Farah ran in dead last up until seven laps to go, at which point he asserted himself up to the front so that he could easily cover any moves in the last few laps.
The biggest challenge would come from Kenya's Ndiku, who started hammering to try and break Farah with two laps to go.
"Nobody wanted to push the pace and 800m to go everybody was in the pack and then I decided to split the pack by saving myself, earlier the better because I knew the last lap would be very fast. So I had to push hard to break the group," the Kenyan explained.
Ndiku charged to the front ahead of Farah with two laps to go, and again at the bell, but the Brit is just too good in the closing laps for someone to only press him at crunch time. Once Farah went past him on the final curve, the gold medal was never in doubt.
Ndiku would settle for second in 13:51.75, as he was unable to challenge Farah in the pivotal final 100m, as this generation’s most dominant distance runner now owns five career World Championship titles. The 22-year-old Ndiku said afterwards that his tactics used to try and combat Farah were different from those of his countrymen in the 10,000m because tonight the Kenyans did not have a team plan coming into the race, leaving him to make his own strategy.
"It was more individual because you saw what happened in 10K, so in 5K it was a different situation. I decided, okay, let me do my own race. I have to plan where to push and where not to push to kill everybody in the race," he said.
Despite coming up short in his attempt to break Farah, Ndiku was elated to nab silver in Beijing.
"Honestly, for me getting a silver it's the best moment ever because I was not expecting that," Ndiku said. The Kenyan did not race until July 9th this season, as an injury kept him away from the track up until then.
It was a tough night for Ndiku's fellow Kenyans, as Isiah Koech and Edwin Soi were 8th and 10th, respectively. Perhaps a little pre-race plan between the trio wouldn't have been a bad idea considering that Kenya went 2-3-4 in the 10K while working together.
Ndiku would settle for second in 13:51.75, as he was unable to challenge Farah in the pivotal final 100m, as this generation’s most dominant distance runner now owns five career World Championship titles. The 22-year-old Ndiku said afterwards that his tactics used to try and combat Farah were different from those of his countrymen in the 10,000m because tonight the Kenyans did not have a team plan coming into the race, leaving him to make his own strategy.
"It was more individual because you saw what happened in 10K, so in 5K it was a different situation. I decided, okay, let me do my own race. I have to plan where to push and where not to push to kill everybody in the race," he said.
Despite coming up short in his attempt to break Farah, Ndiku was elated to nab silver in Beijing.
"Honestly, for me getting a silver it's the best moment ever because I was not expecting that," Ndiku said. The Kenyan did not race until July 9th this season, as an injury kept him away from the track up until then.
It was a tough night for Ndiku's fellow Kenyans, as Isiah Koech and Edwin Soi were 8th and 10th, respectively. Perhaps a little pre-race plan between the trio wouldn't have been a bad idea considering that Kenya went 2-3-4 in the 10K while working together.
Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwet, 2nd in 2013, would end up with the bronze tonight in Beijing in 13:51.86. Fellow Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha, he of just 18 years old, was 4th in 13:52.43.
Like Ndiku, Gebrhiwet experienced injury issues in the buildup to these championships, and was pleased to come out with a medal tonight despite his ailment.
Like Ndiku, Gebrhiwet experienced injury issues in the buildup to these championships, and was pleased to come out with a medal tonight despite his ailment.
Galen Rupp recorded his best ever finish in a global 5,000m tonight with his 13:53.90 5th place showing, leading a trio of Americans in 5th, 6th, and 7th. Ben True kicked hard to try and catch Rupp in the final 50m, but ultimately settled for 6th in 13:54.07 in his first appearance at the World Championships.
2015 US champion Ryan Hill also had the highest finish at the World Championships of his career, coming in 7th in 13:55.10. Hill was 10th two years ago in Moscow.
After his brutally tough 10,000m last Sunday, the 29-year-old Rupp was pleased with his effort in the shorter distance tonight, giving him a pair of 5th place finishes in Beijing.
“This is probably the best 5k that I’ve run at a championship meet, especially given the 10k that we ran a week ago, it was obviously a brutal race. To come back, I was really pleased with what I did today,” Rupp said afterwards.
One would have thought that the East Africans would at least try and replicate the honest pace that challenged Farah in the 10,000m, especially considering that the none of the Kenyans or Ethiopians were doubling back from that race tonight. However, a quick pace was thrown out early when the field covered the first two laps in 2:26.
The early jogging allowed Farah to do what he does best- close hard. His last 4 laps were covered in a ridiculous 3:56. This speed is why the Mo-Bot is impossible to stop at the championship level.
One would have thought that the East Africans would at least try and replicate the honest pace that challenged Farah in the 10,000m, especially considering that the none of the Kenyans or Ethiopians were doubling back from that race tonight. However, a quick pace was thrown out early when the field covered the first two laps in 2:26.
The early jogging allowed Farah to do what he does best- close hard. His last 4 laps were covered in a ridiculous 3:56. This speed is why the Mo-Bot is impossible to stop at the championship level.