This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/07/mo-farah-great-north-run-athletics

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Mo Farah becomes first British man to win Great North Run since 1985 Mo Farah becomes first British man to win Great North Run since 1985
(about 2 hours later)
Mo Farah became the first British man to win the Great North Run for nearly 30 years as held off his former training partner Mike Kigen in a dramatic sprint into South Shields. And although Farah missed going under an hour for the half-marathon for the first time, he was delighted that his time of exactly 60 minutes broke his personal best by 10 seconds. Life on the road has proved surprisingly tough for Mo Farah this year: carted off on a wheelchair at the New York half-marathon, and given a cuffing in his first attempt at the marathon in London. So there was understandable pride – and relief – as he fended off his friend and sometime training partner Mike Kigen to became the first Briton since Steve Kenyon in 1985 to win the Great North Run.
Farah’s main challengers were expected to be Stephen Kiprotich, the Olympic and World marathon champion, and the Olympic 10,000m bronze medalist Tariku Bekele. But both men had been blasted off the back in a fast opening four miles which left just three men up front – Farah, Kigen and the Ugandan Thomas Ayegu. Farah’s time – exactly an hour, the same as Kigen, who nearly caught him after he attempted a Mobot just before the line – was a personal best by 10 seconds. But it came after a long-play struggle over the 13.1 mile route with Kigen, who on several occasions appeared to be drifting 10 or 20 metres clear only for Farah to drag him back. And it was also not without controversy. A mile from the end, both athletes – who are represented by Pace management – chatted to each other before Farah went clear leading some to speculate that Kigen had deliberately given way. The Kenyan, however, emphatically denied such suggestions. “I was slowing because I was feeling tired,” he said. “That’s why Mo won the race.”
Ayegu was dropped off at halfway which left Farah and Kigen duking it out. With three miles to go Kigen turned the screw, and Farah drifted 10 metres behind. Farah reeled him in, only for Kigen to kick again with just under a mile to go. Even when Farah went clear with 200 metres remaining, Kigen refused to accept his place and nearly caught him on the line – with both men finishing in the same time. Farah confirmed they were talking about needing to speed up over the last mile to dip under the one-hour mark. “He was saying, ‘let’s go, let’s go’,” said Farah. “But I wanted to have something left in the end. The aim was to win the race rather than run a fast time.”
Afterwards Farah, the first British man to win the race since Bolton-born Steve Kenyon’s victory in 1985, admitted he didn’t expect to break his personal best. “I didn’t think I could run as fast as that,” he admitted. “No chance. But it’s great to finish the season with a win and a fast time. Even though as soon as I was about to celebrate I saw him coming at me. “Mike’s a great athlete and he just kept pushing and pushing so I was thinking ‘just hang in, just hang in’ so I could create more speed,” Farah said. “Once we had dropped everybody I was thinking ‘it’s just me and you’ but he wanted to run faster and just put his foot down and kept pushing and pushing. There were a couple of times when I was thinking ‘four more miles, three more miles, two more miles’ but I just had to dig in.”
“I’ve learned a lot this year,” added Farah, who said he would now be holidaying on Richard Branson’s Necker Island.”It’s been up and down but I’ve managed to put it behind me and next year I will prepare for Beijing. My aim is definitely the 10km and we’ll see what happens after that.” Before the race Farah’s main challengers were expected to be Stephen Kiprotich, the Olympic and World marathon champion, and the Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist Tariku Bekele. But both men were blasted off the back in a blistering opening four miles which left just three men up front – Farah, Kigen and the Ugandan Thomas Ayegu. But Ayegu dropped off at halfway to leave Farah and Kigen duking it out. Kigen kept the pace up from seven to 10 miles, to his friend’s evident discomfort, but perhaps lacked the confidence to apply the squeeze.
In the women’s race Kenya’s Mary Keitany pipped Paula Radcliffe’s 11-year-old course record by a second to win in 1:05:39, while Britain’s Gemma Steel advertised her growing potential by finishing second in 1:08:13 – a PB of over two minutes. Farah, meanwhile, heads for his holidays a contented man after winning two European gold medals and setting two personal bests, in the two-miles in Birmingham last month and now here. “If you have asked me six weeks ago I wouldn’t have thought I’d have done all that,” he conceded. “I’ve learned you can push your body and do more. It’s great to finish the season with a win and a good time. I’ve learned a lot this year and it has been up and down. But now I want to take a break and relax and get ready for the World Championships next year.”
In the women’s race, the impressive Kenyan Mary Keitany slipped under Paula Ratcliffe’s 11-year-old course record by a second to win in 1:05:39, while Britain’s Gemma Steel showcased her potential by finishing second in 1:08:13 – a personal best by over two minutes.
The 28-year-old Steel is a late developer, who only started training seriously three years ago. The results have been impressive as she has ran a series of fast 10km times on the road all summer. This was another step up.The 28-year-old Steel is a late developer, who only started training seriously three years ago. The results have been impressive as she has ran a series of fast 10km times on the road all summer. This was another step up.
“I felt really comfortable for the first half of the race, and I held myself back a bit when Mary pushed on,” said Steel. “I was unfamiliar territory so I kept it steady and then pushed it for the last three miles.” “I felt really comfortable for the first 10 miles then I picked it up a bit,” said Steel. “When I found out Mary broke the course record I was glad I didn’t go with her. I ran a tactical race and stayed in contention – I didn’t do anything silly. I have definitely got it in me to do the marathon and this race has helped my confidence a lot.”
Meanwhile when Keitany – who has never been beaten in nine half-marathon races – was asked about whether she was now aiming for Radcliffe’s world marathon record, she started laughing. “I don’t know,” she said. Keitany – who has never been beaten in nine half-marathon races and holds the second-fastest marathon time in history – was asked if she was gunning for Paula Radcliffe’s world marathon record. But she laughed and said: “I don’t know.”
After her hard-running performance here, and another personal best, such suggestions no longer appear to be quite so fanciful.