London Marathon 2018: Mo Farah shifts focus to World Championship after record run

The 35-year-old multiple Olympic and world track medallist proved he can mix it with the best with a third-place finish

Andy Sims
Monday 23 April 2018 09:22 BST
Comments
2018 London Marathon in numbers

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Mo Farah has his sights set on World Championships glory next year following his third-placed finish at the London Marathon.

Farah not only beat Steve Jones' 33-year-old British record with a time of two hours six minutes and 21 seconds, he also proved to himself that he can mix it with the best.

The 35-year-old multiple Olympic and world track medallist may have finished two minutes behind Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who made it a hat-trick of wins following his successes in 2015 and 2016, and runner-up Tola Shura Kitata of Ethiopia.

But with the likes of Ethiopian great Kenenisa Bekele and last year's winner Daniel Wanjiru of Kenya trailing behind, Farah now knows that with a bit of fine-tuning - not least when it comes to collecting his drinks bottles - he has a real shot at success in Doha 2019.

"As you saw it's all about learning, I did have a few problems getting a drink," he said with a smile. "But it took me so many years on the track, you don't just do it overnight. Over time I hope to get it right so my aim is to continue.

"If I can run 2:06 at the World Championships, they don't go that quick there. So my aim is maybe in the autumn to try and run another marathon and then see what happens in the summer of 2019.

"My aim is to keep learning, keep bringing my time down and mixing with these guys.

"Forget the time, look who I finished behind. And then there's Kenenisa, Daniel... you wouldn't have put me in the top three."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in