Double Olympic champion Mo Farah’s famed final lap sprint put paid to any hopes Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan had of retaining his 10,000 metres title at the World Championships yesterday.
In Daegu two years ago, Jeilan nipped in at the line to deny Farah a first world title but this time he was left watching the Briton’s heels as Farah pulled away to win in 27:21.71.
The Ethiopian had to settle for silver in 27:22.23 and Kenya’s Paul Tanui took third in 27:22.61.
“I had the experience from two years ago,” Farah told BBC radio.
“I knew I just had to cover every move and the guys were going to go out there to take a lot out of me. I was just digging in, digging in.”
Hot favourite Farah, competing in his first race over the distance since winning gold at the London Games, looked calm and collected throughout the final on a sultry evening at the Luzhniki stadium, in Moscow.
Knowing he could outsprint the opposition, Farah was happy to settle into the pack for most of the race, leaving the Kenyans and Ethiopians to set the pace before making his move on the penultimate lap.
The 30-year-old, who plans to defend his 5,000 metres title, moved to the front and began to wind up the pace but there was still a leading group of six at the bell.
Farah kicked again and was followed by Jeilan but coming down the home straight the Ethiopian knew he was beaten.
Crowd favourite Usain Bolt ignored the false-start distraction by his nearest rival, reviving memories of the Jamaican’s own disqualification from the 2011 100m final, to negotiate his first foray in Moscow.
Bolt, with a wave and a quick salute to the fans pre-race, but no smiles or elaborate gestures, eased down the straight in 10.07 seconds safely earning his passage to today’s 100 metres semi-finals today.
Running in the last of seven first-round heats, Bolt kept his composure after Kemar Hyman of the Cayman Islands, running in lane four, directly to Bolt’s right, false-started and was disqualified.
Olympic champion and world record holder Bolt infamously suffered the same fate two years ago in Daegu, South Korea, forced to walk away as compatriot Yohan Blake took his world title.
Yesterday it was announced that Trinidad and Tobago sprinter Kelly-Ann Baptiste, who won a world 100 metres bronze medal in 2011 and was a real prospect for Moscow, had tested positive for a banned substance.
Baptiste, 26, returned home from the World Championships where she was due to run in the first round of the 100m heats this morning.
In the men’s decathlon, double defending champion Trey Hardee was sensationally dumped out of the event on the opening day of the worlds as he no-heighted in a dramatic high-jump competition.
Hardee, who triumphed in Berlin and Daegu and took Olympic silver last year, was looking off the pace on the opening morning and went into the high jump, the fourth disci-pline, in fifth place.
With a personal best of 1.99 metres it is among his weaker events but it was still a shock to see him fail three times at 1.90.