Athletics: Mo Farah sets first world record of his career

Mo Farah smashed the men’s one-hour record on his return to the track at Brussels’ Diamond League meeting on Friday 4 September.

The four-time Olympic champion ran 21,330m, surpassing the record of Haile Gebrselassie set in 2007 by 45 metres in the rarely run 60-minute race.

At 37, when most athletes are past their prime, Farah set his first world record, employing his trademark fast finish for the last lap. It was his first time back on the track after a three-year hiatus.

Farah switched to road running after the Rio Olympics but has now set his sights on competing in next year’s 10,000m at the postponed Tokyo Games.

“It isn’t supposed to be easy to break a world record, but I can tell you that it was really hard. The record stood for a really long time… My first meet back on the track was what was driving me,” said Farah.

The Olympics this year isn’t going to happen but it’s probably a good thing for me

– Mo Farah

Meanwhile, Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands set a new record in the women’s race that day. Her 18,930m feat bettered Dire Tune’s 2008 mark of 18,517m by 413m.

On Saturday 12 September Farah was up and running again, winning the Antrim Coast Half Marathon which took place alongside scenic Northern Irish coastline.

As with the previous Friday, he upped the pace in the race’s closing stages, snatching victory in 1 hour 27 seconds, which put 12 seconds between him and runner-up Marc Scott.

“The Olympics this year isn’t going to happen but it’s probably a good thing for me. It means I can get back on the track, get racing again, and rebuild my confidence before having a crack at the Olympics,” Farah added.