Farah grabs fourth Great North Run crown

The great Olympic champion Mo Farah has made history once again becoming the first man to win four Great North Run titles in a row.

Mo Farah

Sir Mo Farah makes history with a record-setting fourth successive Great North Run title. (AAP)

Sir Mo Farah made history once again on Sunday as he won his fourth successive Great North Run title for the world famous half-marathon in north-east England.

Farah simply enhanced his reputation as Great Britain's top athlete breaking the tape over the 21km course in Newcastle upon Tyne, leading home a field of around 57,000.

It was the fifth time he had raced the event but his fourth win consecutively.

He was made to work for it though with a strong challenge from New Zealander Jake Robertson.

It was only in the closing stages that the London and Rio Olympic gold medallist over 10,000m and 5,000m was able to shake off Robertson to finish in a time of one hour and six seconds.

Robertson was six seconds back in second place, with Ethiopia's Feyisa Lilesa, third.

London Marathon winner Mary Keitany of Kenya surged to her third victory in the women's race in 1hr:05min.59sec.

Farah, who last month finished his glittering track career with a thrilling 5,000m victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich, produced his trademark 'Mobot' celebration in Newcastle as he crossed the line in first place.

Farah told the BBC after his season-concluding race: "That was really, really tough. I'm sore everywhere - I've never been this sore!

"(Doing less training than normal) was definitely telling. With four miles to go I was just hanging on, gritting my teeth.

"As we got closer, I managed to believe in myself and dig, and I was thinking 'If I can just sit on him (Robertson), at the end I can sprint'.

"I'm so pleased with how the season has gone. I'll go on a little holiday with the missus and then come back fresh. I'm looking forward to sticky toffee pudding and apple pie!"

Farah becomes the first athlete to win the Great North Run four times in a row, although he is on equal terms with Kenya's Benson Masya, who was champion four times in the 1990s.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world