The Londoner predicts the Olympic 5,000m and 10,000m finals will almost certainly come down to a one-lap shoot-out, and his narrow defeat in the final strides of the 10,000m at last summer’s World Championships in Daegu was a reminder that he will need to be at his sharpest in the final 400 metres if he is to win Olympic gold.
But Sunday’s performance offered plenty of encouragement that he has the necessary ammunition as he held off Choge’s challenge on the final bend to cross the line in 3 min 39.03 sec — an indoor personal best and a stadium record that will stand forever since Saturday’s meeting was the last time the Kelvin Hall will host the annual indoor curtain-raiser. Next year, it switches to Glasgow’s new Commonwealth Arena.
“He’s the world champion and there are no weaknesses,” said Van Commenee. “I think last year in Daegu in the 10k he was slightly taken by surprise, but he’s been warned now, and he’s a complete athlete.” Farah’s triumph was one of seven home victories as Britain took the overall trophy in the five-way match against Russia, Germany, the United States and a Commonwealth Select team.
One of the highlights was the runaway 800m triumph by Welshman Joe Thomas, 23, whose time of 1 min 47.35 sec put him second in the indoor world rankings, while former world indoor silver medallist Jeanette Kwakye recorded her best 60m time since 2008 when she won in 7.26 sec.
The other Britons celebrating were Mark Lewis-Francis in the 60m, Danny Talbot and Margaret Adeoye in the men’s and women’s 200m and Yamile Aldama in the women’s triple jump.
The only cloud was world bronze medallist Andy Turner limping out of the arena after finishing last in his 60m hurdles races. He will consult a doctor on Monday about a persistent Achilles’ problem.
World silver medallist Hannah England was pipped on the line by Germany’s Denise Krebs in the women’s 1500m, while high jumper Danny Grabarz was unable to match his recent world-leading leap of 2.34m when he finished third with a clearance of 2.26m.
Grabarz also found himself relegated to second on the world list after Russia’s Aleksey Dmitrik overtook him with a jump of 2.35m in Hustopece, Czech Republic, on Saturday, though there was more good news for British high-jumping when, at the same meeting, Samson Oni achieved the Olympic qualifying ‘A’ standard of 2.31m.
Author: Chief Editor
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