IAAF World Championships in Athletics Moscow 2013 - Results Photos Updates

Farah becomes the 10k World Champion, Rupp finished fourth

Aug 10, 2013 by Mitch Kastoff

The reigning Olympic 10,000m champion just became the reigning World Champion. Mo Farah holds off Ibrahim Jeylan, the surprise winner in ’11 Daegu, to take gold. Kenya’s Paul Tanui finished third and Olympic silver medalist Galen Rupp did not have enough closing speed and settled for fourth.

There was so much 2011 in that 2013 finish. Huge credit to Jeylan for showing up again at the World Championships, but Mo Farah was simply too much to handle.

The Predictable Finish

There aren’t many ways to beat Farah. We figure you either have to a) trip him or b) deny him the lead at the bell. The first option actually happened, but the second did not. Prior to the final, we analyzed Farah’s vintage races and said that if anyone wanted to have a shot at beating him, they would have to make the first move.

After a quick 63.22 opening lap from the Kenyan team, we thought that there may have been a legitimate chance at this final having an honest pace. But as the field passed 400m and slowed back down to a 69.23 split, we knew that it was going to be just another normal final.

One that favored Farah’s kick.

The East Africans gave their best shot. For the first few laps, Tanui took it upon himself to dictate the schedule for the field for the first five laps.

We do not usually see much of the Union Jack vest at the very front of the race. Right at the 2,400-meter mark, Farah surged all the way from last to first to keep things lively. After a 64.70 seventh lap, Farah was content to slide back into obscurity as Abera Kuma and Imane Merga took the lead. It seemed as if the whole East African region (Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Eritrea, Rwanda!?) was single file, but the pace hadn’t picked up. The race was still a waiting game.

The first Nike Oregon Project member to make his way to the front wasn’t Farah, but the Galen Rupp. We normally see Rupp following Farah’s tactics, but the Olympic silver medalist seemed to have his own race strategy in mind. Still, Farah followed suit as the pair moved up at 5600m.

As the lap counter clicked down, the African contingent at the front remained the same, but Farah and Rupp switched positions. Rupp led Farah on the outside, then Farah led with Rupp fading on the inside, and at 7600m, the pair was side-by-side near the front.

The next lap was the deciding factor. Rupp moved onto Tanui’s shoulder at 8000m and we thought that maybe he’d finally take the lead. On the start of the backstretch, Muchiri would throw down the first big move of the race.

100 meters later, the final big move was made by none other than Farah.

In Daegu, Farah said he made the mistake of trying to go for home with 500m left and paid for it in the final meters. Two years later, his bid came with 1800 meters left.

We’ve said that once Farah takes the lead, he never relinquishes it. We also mentioned that his training partner, Dathan Ritzenhein, has been running the most aggressively since his ’09 dream season. At 9000m, Farah would lose the lead to Ritz, Tanui, and Rupp, but quickly moved (with a little shove) out to lane two to retake the helm.

At the bell, Farah was in the perfection position while Rupp was in fifth. Trying to rekindle the magic from London, Farah was in full stride with 200m to go.

But then, we saw shades of 2011. Jeylan had moved up well on the backstretch and was gaining on Farah. We were going to see the same finish, two years later.

Thirty meter before the line, it still looked like a replay from Daegu. 20m before the line, Jeylan was still gaining ground. Then, like a man who had learned his lesson not too long ago, Farah found a final gear to hold off the ’11 world champion. Farah wins, Jeylan second, and Tanui third.

Rupp just didn’t seem to have it in Moscow. It hasn’t been his most ideal season, but he still had an excellent chance at making the podium. Rupp gathered himself well on the backstretch, but as the top three came off the turn, Rupp looked like he knew that he was in for an unfortunate fourth place.

There was no easy way to beat Farah. For Rupp, the result has to be disappointing, but it's not the biggest surprise. We’ll see what happens in the 5k.

Unofficial Splits
Lap 1: 63.22
Lap 2: 69.23 (2:12.45)
Lap 3: 66.85 (3:19.39)
Lap 4: 67.94 (4:27.24)
Lap 5: 68.18 (5:35.42)
Lap 6: 67.79 (6:43.21)
Lap 7: 64.70 (7:47.91)
Lap 8: 65.14 (8:53.05)

Lap 10: 64.97 (11:03.14)
Lap 11: 66.43 (12:09.57)
Lap 12: 66.90 (13:16.47)
5k: 13:49.95

Lap 14: 66.42 (15:30.00)
Lap 15: 67.52 (16:37.52)

Lap 18: 67.49 (18:52.76)
Lap 19: 66.95 (19:59.71)
Lap 20: 65.36 (21:05.07)
Lap 20: 66.33 (22:11.40)
Lap 21: 65.36 (23:16.76)
Lap 22: 66.14 (24:22.90)
Lap 23: 63.70 (25:26.60)
Lap 24: 60.62 (26:27.22)
Finish: 27:21.72

Full results

10 AUG 2013 18:55

POS	BIB	ATHLETE	COUNTRY	MARK
1	482	Mohamed FARAH	GBR	27:21.71	SB
2	424	Ibrahim JEILAN	ETH	27:22.23	SB
3	724	Paul Kipngetich TANUI	KEN	27:22.61
4	1162	Galen RUPP	USA	27:24.39	SB
5	426	Abera KUMA	ETH	27:25.27
6	719	Bedan Karoki MUCHIRI	KEN	27:27.17
7	708	Kenneth Kiprop KIPKEMOI	KEN	27:28.50	SB
8	362	Nguse AMLOSOM	ERI	27:29.21	SB
9	239	Mohammed AHMED	CAN	27:35.76	SB
10	1160	Dathan RITZENHEIN	USA	27:37.90	SB
11	1076	Thomas AYEKO	UGA	27:40.96	PB
12	428	Imane MERGA	ETH	27:42.02
13	1081	Moses Ndiema KIPSIRO	UGA	27:44.53	SB
14	255	Cameron LEVINS	CAN	27:47.89	SB
15	688	Tsuyoshi UGACHI	JPN	27:50.79	SB
16	422	Dejen GEBREMESKEL	ETH	27:51.88
17	365	Goitom KIFLE	ERI	27:56.38
18	1120	Chris DERRICK	USA	28:04.54	SB
19	627	Daniele MEUCCI	ITA	28:06.74	SB
20	917	Stephen MOKOKA	RSA	28:11.61
21	682	Suguru OSAKO	JPN	28:19.50
22	1084	Timothy TOROITICH	UGA	28:33.61
23	174	Bashir ABDI	BEL	28:41.69
24	132	Collis BIRMINGHAM	AUS	28:44.82	SB
25	962	Yevgeny RYBAKOV	RUS	28:47.49
	979	Robert KAJUGA	RWA	DNF
	684	Yuki SATO	JPN	DNF
	844	Jake ROBERTSON	NZL	DNF
	1070	Polat Kemboi ARIKAN	TUR	DNF
	226	Alemu BEKELE	BRN	DNF
	367	Teklemariam MEDHIN	ERI	DNF
	786	Juan Luis BARRIOS	MEX	DNF
	143	Ben ST.LAWRENCE	AUS	DNS
	228	Ali Hasan MAHBOOD	BRN	DNS
	742	Moukheld AL-OUTAIBI	KSA	DNS