Mo Farah denies saying he hoped to break the two-hour barrier for the marathon, blaming a misunderstanding for the claim attributed to him.

British runner Farah yesterday admitted it was “completely crazy” to believe he could not only challenge the world record of two hours three minutes and 23 seconds but smash it by completing the 26.2-mile route in under 120 minutes.

The 30-year-old doubts the magical two-hour mark can be beaten and revealed that a new running shoe being designed by his sponsors has caused the confusion.

“If you look at the world record it’s slowly been broken before, from 2:04, 2:03. To say I’m going to shave that off is completely crazy,” Farah said during an interview on BBC Breakfast.

“I don’t think two hours is going to be broken in the next 10 years or even beyond that, maybe even 100 years, because, if you really think about it, it is really difficult.

“The rumours actually started because my sponsors, Nike, are working on a shoe called ‘Sub Two-Hour’.

“They keep working on that, and that’s how the rumours started. I never actually said it.”

Somalia-born Farah is deliberating over whether to switch from the 10,000 metres and 5,000 metres – which he has dominated to become Olympic and world champion – to the marathon full-time.

He will prioritise the London Marathon over the Commonwealth Games next year and is unsure of which event he will focus on at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

“It all depends on how London goes. The Olympics is a big one. After London I’ll have a chat with my coach,” he said.

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