Mo Farah recalls nervy moment at Rio

A stumble early on in the 10,000-metre run in the Rio Olympics is one moment that will remain etched in Mo Farah’s mind forever.

Farah, the winner of the 5,000-metres and 10,000-metre race at the London Olympics, won the same events at Rio, but not without some jitters that were erased with a confident comeback en route to a ‘double double’.

That stumble made it “one of the hardest races in my life”.

“The whole thing happened so quickly and all I could think about was all the hard work of training and sacrifice going to waste. I was lucky it happened quite early on and was able to get back up, to get my composure back and then get back up to speed for the final kick. When I crossed the line I was absolutely shattered — physically and emotionally exhausted,” Farah told Laureus after being nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award.

Training “longer and harder” than his rivals helped Farah retain confidence to attain his victories. It enabled him to overcome fatigue after the 10,000-metre sprint to qualify for the 5,000-metre finals. “The hardest point was before the 5k heats, when I was still very tired from the final of the 10k run and had to push my body very hard just to get to the final. For the 5K final I had to dig deep, but I knew that it was my final Olympic race and thought that if I performed to my best there was nobody who was going to beat me. It was an amazing feeling to come back to Britain with two more golds,” Farah said.

'Blown away'

His achievements at Rio contributed in his knighthood announced last month, alongside tennis star Andy Murray. Farah said he was “blown away” with the news. “To receive an honour like that from the country that you’ve called home since the age of eight is special. I’ve been on an incredible journey and always been proud to win medals for the British people – they really have been behind me all the way. Without the support and love from them, my family and the team around me, none of it would have been possible,” he said.

Farah was nominated for the Laureus award alongside five others sportsmen — Usain Bolt, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Andy Murray, and Cristiano Ronaldo.