Rio 2016 Olympics
Mo Farah survives stumble to qualify for 5,000m Olympic final
In the 10,000m he had crashed to the track after an accidental trip from training partner Galen Rupp, but had time to recover and still take gold
walesonline.co.uk
Great Britain's Mo Farah during the men's 5000m heats on the twelfth day of the Rio Olympics Games, Brazil (Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
Mo Farah survived another heart-in-mouth moment to keep his bid for a fourth Olympic title on track as he coasted into the final of the 5,000 metres in Rio, writes Guy Aspin.
Four days after dragging himself to his feet after a fall to retain his 10,000m crown and become the first British track and field athlete to win three Olympic golds, the 33-year-old narrowly avoided crashing to the ground again, this time on the last lap, as he made sure he did just enough to qualify, coming home in third place.
The Londoner was content to sit near the back early on, moving towards the front with five laps to go.
But disaster nearly struck 200m from the finish when Farah was clipped from behind by Hassan Mead. The American went down, but the Briton managed to stay on his feet despite stumbling and eased across the line in 13 minutes 25.25 seconds, with the top five guaranteed qualification.
In the 10,000m he had crashed to the track after an accidental trip from training partner Galen Rupp, but had time to recover and still take gold. Tripping is looking like the best way to stop him.
"I've got such a long stride, so I find it hard, getting tripped up or tangled up with someone," said Farah. "But I managed to stay on my feet."
Farah admitted he was "surprised" by the size of the field - there were 25 in his heat - and he claimed having three heats rather than two would have been a "safer option".
Farah is bidding to become only the second man, after 'Flying Finn' Lasse Viren, to complete the long-distance double at two Games.
He had stated ahead of this race that his recovery from the 10,000m was getting harder the older he got and he expected his Ethiopian rivals to try and break him over the shorter distance. He admitted he felt tired and still sported a sore shoulder from his fall on Saturday.
Farah's two chief rivals, Ethiopia's Muktar Edris and Dejen Gebremeskel, qualified with ease for Saturday night's medal race from the faster second heat, the former coming home second and his compatriot third.
A third Ethiopian Hagos Gebrhiwet was the winner of Farah's race.
The trio will be fresher for the final, without a 10,000m race in their legs, as they look to deny the Briton a fourth straight global long-distance double.
"It was quite nerve-racking again, just getting yourself back in the zone," said Farah.
"Sometimes you just take yourself away from it. That's what I did a little bit after I won (the 10,000m). I think it's a wake-up now to say, 'look, this job isn't done yet'. Now I have to recover, just lock myself in my room and get ready for this race."
On the chances of another gold, he said: "It's possible, but you look at the guys and they are ready for me.
"I just have to get myself back in that frame of mind and just get ready. I'm still hungry and still want it, which is the most important thing."
Farah's team-mate Andy Butchart also booked his final place, coming home fifth in 13mins 20.08secs, but Tom Farrell went out after he could only finish 20th.
No Kenyans qualified for the final, although they did celebrate 3,000m steeplechase success, with Conseslus Kipruto taking gold.
Meanwhile, neither Chris Bennett, Mark Dry nor Nick Miller made the hammer final.
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