With Jamaica’s Usain Bolt completing his triple-triple Friday night, the next question was whether Great Britain’s Mo Farah would win both the 5000 and 10,000 meter races for the second consecutive Olympics.
Despite other runners attempting strategies meant to keep Farah from being able to run his race away from the pack, the Briton added another gold medal to his impressive list of achievements by winning the 5000 Saturday night. Farah ran most of the race away from the clutter that can lead to a stumble similar to what he had to recover from in the 10,000, and he finished in 13:03.30, pulling away around the final turn.
WATCH: Farah completes distance double-double, Centrowitz wins 1500 gold
Ethiopia’s Hagos Gebrhiwhet, a runner tabbed by some as the one best equipped to beat Farah, pulled close to Farah heading into the final lap and attempted to push the pace. But he ultimately couldn’t keep up with Farah, dropping off into third (13:04.35) by the end of the race.
American Paul Chelimo, who was originally the silver medalist with a time of 13:03.90, had to deal with a roller coaster of emotions before eventually being confirmed for that place on the medal stand.
Shortly after the race’s completion he was disqualified. Chelimo, Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed and Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris were all disqualified with the IAAF citing rule 163.3 (b) as the reason for all three disqualifications, which reads as follows:
In all races (or any part of races) not run in lanes, an athlete running on a bend, on the outer half of the track as per Rule 162.10, or on any curved part of the diversion from the track for the steeplechase water jump, shall not step or run on or inside the kerb or line marking the applicable border (the inside of the track, the outer half of the track, or any curved part of the diversion from the track for the steeplechase water jump).
Yet all three runners appealed the decision, and the appeals of Chelimo and Ahmed were upheld. So Chelimo gets his silver medal after all, with Gebrhiwhet taking bronze. Americans Bernard Lagat, who would have received a bronze medal had the appeals been denied, and Hassan Mead finished fifth and 11th, respectively.
Farah joins Finland’s Lasse Viren as the only runners to accomplish the “double-double” in the 5000 and 10,000 meter races. Like Farah in the 10,000 final, Viren recovered from a fall in the 10,000 final at the 1972 Olympics in Munich to not only win gold but do so in world record time.
