Team GB's Mo Farah reveals plan to quit the track in 2017 following Rio 2016 success
KEY POINTS
- The Brit won two more gold medals in Brazil.
- Farah has suggested he will compete in the marathon in four years' time.
Four-time Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah plans to end his track career after the 2017 World Championships in London. The 33-year-old became Britain's most successful track and field athlete at Rio 2016, winning the 5,000m and 10,000m titles to mirror his achievement in London four years earlier.
Farah intends to race on the track in one more major championship, in London next year. He has, however, suggested he could compete in the marathon in Tokyo in 2020.
"[In] 2017, I'd like to end it on the track, and then we'll see what we can do in the marathon," he said, according to the BBC. "In the long-distance events you can't plan too far ahead. But you can't rule it out."
Farah finished eighth on his marathon debut in London two years ago and will be 37 by the time of the next Games.
Meanwhile, Farah admitted his ambition of retaining his 10,000m crown in Rio almost came crashing down when he was tripped during the dramatic final.
"All my training for four years, I thought in one moment it's gone," he reflected. "It took a lot out of me. I had to stay strong and think 'I've got a long way to go, this is what I've trained for'."
Farah's latest Olympic successes have prompted calls for the runner to be awarded a knighthood, but he is refusing to get carried away. "I just want to do what I'm good at. I just run, and I let the rest take care of itself," said Farah, who has won more world and Olympic titles than Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele.
"I know my career is short and I try and make the most of it. I enjoy what I do, and I try to make my nation and country proud. I owe it to the people."
© Copyright IBTimes 2024. All rights reserved.