Four years on from his London 2012 5,000m and 10,000m double golden triumph, former Teddington resident Mo Farah will be out to repeat the feat in Brazil early on Sunday morning.
The 33-year-old former St Mary’s University student triumphed in the first leg of his attempt to secure a double-double as he recovered from a fall to win the men’s 10,000m title in Rio last Sunday morning.
He successfully negotiated the 5,000m heat on Wednesday - almost falling again in the final 200m - in a time of 13 minutes 25.25 seconds to bag his place in the event’s final at the weekend.
Farah won the 10,000m last week in a time of 27:05.17 - 25 seconds quicker than his winning time in London - and his 5,000m winning mark four years ago, which also earned him a golden post box in Teddington, was 13:41.66.
Golden moment: Mo Farah's London 2012 golden post box in Teddington
“When I fell down, for a moment I thought my race was over, my dream was over, but then I managed to dig deep,” he said after last week's win.
“I promised my daughter Rhianna I was going to get her a medal and I was thinking ‘I can’t let her down’.
"That is all I was thinking about – her.
"That is why I was quite emotional at the end because it almost went.
“As each lap went down, I was getting more and more confident.
"With the bell, I was thinking ‘Just don’t waste too much energy’.”
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