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BEIJING - The Kenyans threw everything they had at defending World champion Mo Farah in the 10,000m, but in the end they were no match yet again for the closing speed of the world’s greatest distance runner. The 32-year-old Farah won an unusually quick championship race in 27:01.14, closing in 54 seconds to take his second straight 10K World title.

 

The victory was Farah’s third straight global title at the distance, as he also won Olympic gold back in 2012 in London, as well as the 2013 World title in Moscow.

 

Conditions were certainly not ideal on Saturday evening in Beijing, as the combination of heat and wind, as well as a brisk tempo set by the Kenyans tested Farah up to the final 100 meters.  In the end though, the Brit was just too quick over the final lap, even after a stumble with 350 to go nearly doomed his shot at glory.

 

“I honestly thought at one point I was gone, because I kind of stumbled and I was thinking ‘not 24 laps into it,’” Farah laughed. 

 

Farah tangled legs with Kenyan Geoffrey Kamworor with around 350m to go, but managed to stay on his feet when a fall at that point would have doomed his medal chances. But Farah showed his poise by staying calm, and shortly after his contact with the Kenyan he had built a lead on the back stretch that he would never relinquish. 

 

While the sight of Farah flashing the Mo-Bot in Beijing was to be expected given his record in these races, the tough pace set by his rivals was certainly not. None of Farah’s 10,000m titles have been as fast as tonight’s result, but the quick time was set up by the Kenyans wanting to make the race honest in an attempt to stunt Farah’s closing speed. 

 

The trio of Geoffrey Kamworor, Paul Tanui, and Bedan Karoki led Farah and American Galen Rupp through 5k in 13:40, a pace that Farah had to match that early in the race because the wind would have made any gap tough to close. But the Kenyans, try as they might, couldn’t shake the unshakable Farah, who anticipated their tactics all along. 

 

“We knew they (the Kenyans) were going to go fast, but it was very windy, so it was one of those things where you try and sit back, but then you don’t want to give them too much space. If you sit back and let a big massive gap, you still have to close that gap, with the wind,” he said. 

 

NOP teammates Farah and Rupp, for their part, tried to work together to manage the efforts of the Kenyans, bouncing up to the lead every so often, which ultimately helped Farah win gold and kept Rupp in the race longer than expected.

 

The 29-year-old Rupp, whose fitness was in question after a sub-par mile race just two weeks prior, managed to stay with Farah and the Kenyans until around 300m to go, when Farah’s jolt of pace finally broke him. Rupp, who was 4th two years ago in Moscow, was very disappointed to finish 5th tonight in Beijing.

 

“Yeah I mean I was disappointed not to finish in the top 3. That’s just the way it goes sometimes. I just ran hard the whole way,” Rupp said. 

A bloodied Galen Rupp stares down in disappointment after finishing 5th in the 10,000m on Saturday night in Beijing

The American record holder didn’t have a trace of the finishing speed he showed when he was runner-up three years ago in London, and part of that tonight was likely due to the efforts of the Kenyans. While Farah closed in 54-seconds, Rupp’s 61-second final lap dashed any chances he had of joining his teammate up on the podium once more.

 

Rupp’s final time was 27:08.91. 

 

The Kenyans would fall in place behind Farah and ahead of Rupp, with Geoffrey Kamworor grabbing the silver in 27:01.76, Paul Tanui bronze in 27:02.83, and Bedan Karoki finishing in the dreaded fourth position in 27:04.77. 

 

Farah will next target his third straight 5,000m World title, starting with the prelim Wednesday morning and then followed by the final on August 29th. 

 

Like tonight, Farah will be heavily favored in that competition, even as another set of talented Kenyans (and Ethiopians) prepare to make his life as difficult as possible. 

 

It’s tough to imagine a tougher challenge being thrown Farah’s way than the one he saw tonight in the 10,000m, and he seemingly becomes less beatable with one stunning victory after the other. Whether the pace is fast or if it’s slow, Farah has shown he’s adaptable and just happy to go along for the ride. 

 

His challengers may make the initial statement, but Mo Farah always has the last word.

 

“It’s great to win here tonight, to be able to back it up year after year, it hasn’t been easy, but to stay on top year after year is pretty incredible,” he said.