Mo Farah, the Brit who swept the 5000m and 10,000m at the last two Olympics, failed to run a qualifying time for the Tokyo Games on Friday in what was likely his last chance to make the Olympic team.
Farah, 38, clocked 27:47.04 in the 10,000m at the British Olympic Trials in Manchester, missing the Olympic qualifying time of 27:28.00. The deadline to get the time is next Tuesday.
Farah was asked if it was his last career track race and answered, “That’s a tough one.”
“That’s all I had today,” Farah said in an on-track interview. “I’ve had a wonderful career. I’m very lucky enough to have the long career I’ve had.”
Three weeks ago, he clocked 27:50.64 in his first track 10,000m since winning the last of his six world championships in 2017. Farah said afterward he had a foot injury.
Farah left the track for the marathon after 2017 Worlds, then announced a return to the track in November 2019 for a fourth Olympic bid.
Since then, Ugandan Joshua Cheptegei broke the 10,000m world record held by Ethiopian legend Kenenisa Bekele.
Cheptegei’s time, 26:11.00, is 35.57 seconds faster than Farah’s personal best from 2011.
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