MO FARAH smashed his UK 10km record at the Bupa London 10,000 on May 31.
The Newham & Essex Beagle successfully defended his crown and in doing so, Farah defeated a very strong field including world record-holder Micah Kogo from Kenya and Chris Thompson, who recently made an astonishing 10,000m debut of 27:29.61.
The European indoor 3000m champion, who recently returned from a long training stint at altitude in Kenya, took full advantage of his superior 1500m pedigree as Farah sprinted clear of Kogo in the final 200m for a UK record of 27:44, which equates to a six second improvement.
Farah’s British record is made all the more impressive given the slow pace in the early stages. The official 5km split of 14:09 meant Farah covered the second 5km in 13:35.
“I knew I was in great shape coming into today and I was confident. My aim was to come out and run hard and if the pace was good just to go with it,” said Farah.
“I love London and I get loads of support and with 200m to go I just went ‘boom’! I’m now excited and looking forward to the European 10k next weekend.”
Kogo, who finished second in 27:49, said he didn’t feel at full fitness today: “I felt tired and my body just didn’t react when it needed to,” he said.
“Mo is a good friend, but when it comes to competition we’re rivals. I now have a week of rest then I’ll race the 5000m in the Diamond League in Rome.”
Thompson, third in 28:17, commented: “I’m pleased with how strong I felt – my stride was fluent – but when they took off it was a stretch too far. I’d love to have done one less 10k this month and see how I could have done today but overall I felt strong and fresh and it was really great to line up alongside Mo.”
World half-marathon champion Mary Keitany was the runaway winner in the women’s race and the Kenyan improved her lifetime best performance to 31:06. The world 25km record-holder pulled away from her rivals at the 3km point, eventually winning by an emphatic 69 seconds.
Compatriots Doris Changeywo (32:15) and Edith Chelimo (34:30) finished second and third.
After the race, Keitany explained: “I’m very happy that I won today, but also that I tried my best and ran a personal best,” she said. “I got away at 3km when I pushed on a bit then I just maintained it.”
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