London Diamond League (Sainbury's Anniversary Games) 2013Jul 26, 2013 by David Monti
Farah Responds to Questions on Eve of His Olympic Stadium Appearance
Farah Responds to Questions on Eve of His Olympic Stadium Appearance
FARAH RESPONDS TO RECORD QUESTIONS ON EVE OF HIS OLYMPIC STADIUM APPEARANCE
By Chris Lotsbom @ChrisLotsbom
(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
OLYMPIC STADIUM, LONDON (26-Jul) -- On the eve of his return here at Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, double Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah played games with members of the media. Asked at today's press conference if he'd go after Dave Moorcroft's 3000m British record tomorrow when he toes the line inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, the 30-year-old responded with a tease.
"I'm just going to leave you guys guessing! My aim is to win the race," he said. On Saturday, Farah will take on Olympic bronze medalist Tariku Bekele, Oregon Project teammate Dathan Ritzenhein, and Kenyan Gideon Gathimba, among others, on the same track he etched his name into immortality twelve months ago. The 3000m is the only distance between 1500m and the half-marathon in which Farah does not hold the national record. That could easily change tomorrow.
"I haven’t thought too much about it yet, but I do know there are pacers in there, so I'll have a chat with Alberto [Salazar, his coach] tonight and we’ll see what he says," the Somalian-born Farah said. In order to gain the national record, Farah will need to time under 7:32.79.
If last weekend's contest in Monaco was any indication, the record is surely within Farah's grasp. On July 19, Farah broke Steve Cram's 1500m national mark at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco, timing 3:28.81 for second behind Asbel Kiprop. The mark was also a European record.
"I couldn’t believe it. If you’d have said to me six weeks ago that I’d have run under 3:30 and broke Steve Cram’s record I would never have believed you," said Farah. "But it just shows you, that when you have that confidence, you can surprise yourself."
In less than two hours, competition will begin here with the women's pole vault. On tap for day one of the two day Sainsbury's Anniversary Games are four distance events: the women's 3000m and 1500m, as well as both the men's and women's 800m.
By Chris Lotsbom @ChrisLotsbom
(c) 2013 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved. Used with permission.
OLYMPIC STADIUM, LONDON (26-Jul) -- On the eve of his return here at Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, double Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah played games with members of the media. Asked at today's press conference if he'd go after Dave Moorcroft's 3000m British record tomorrow when he toes the line inside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, the 30-year-old responded with a tease.
"I'm just going to leave you guys guessing! My aim is to win the race," he said. On Saturday, Farah will take on Olympic bronze medalist Tariku Bekele, Oregon Project teammate Dathan Ritzenhein, and Kenyan Gideon Gathimba, among others, on the same track he etched his name into immortality twelve months ago. The 3000m is the only distance between 1500m and the half-marathon in which Farah does not hold the national record. That could easily change tomorrow.
"I haven’t thought too much about it yet, but I do know there are pacers in there, so I'll have a chat with Alberto [Salazar, his coach] tonight and we’ll see what he says," the Somalian-born Farah said. In order to gain the national record, Farah will need to time under 7:32.79.
If last weekend's contest in Monaco was any indication, the record is surely within Farah's grasp. On July 19, Farah broke Steve Cram's 1500m national mark at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Monaco, timing 3:28.81 for second behind Asbel Kiprop. The mark was also a European record.
"I couldn’t believe it. If you’d have said to me six weeks ago that I’d have run under 3:30 and broke Steve Cram’s record I would never have believed you," said Farah. "But it just shows you, that when you have that confidence, you can surprise yourself."
In less than two hours, competition will begin here with the women's pole vault. On tap for day one of the two day Sainsbury's Anniversary Games are four distance events: the women's 3000m and 1500m, as well as both the men's and women's 800m.