Men’s 5000m: Post Race Video/Audio: Mo Farah Calls This Win “The Sweetest” Plus Bernard Lagat, Ryan Hill, Galen Rupp, Brett Robinson
by: LetsRun.com
August 16, 2013
Below is the post-race reaction from Mo Farah and the Americans Bernard Lagat, Ryan Hill and Galen Rupp after the men’s 5,000m final where Farah won his 5th global title in a row.
Mo Farah on Going After a Faster Time and Improving the 1-2%
Mo was asked if he would like to go after a faster time. He said, “I would like to run a decent time it would be great. As an athlete, the most important thing is to try and win medals for my career.” He then mentioned Bekele’s world records and said, “It would be nice to go close to that.”
He also discussed his great tactics and how he went from being an average guy in the finals to the world beater he is now. He said, ” I’ve learned a lot in my career. Many people think I just came overnight to being a great athlete. It’s been years of struggle.” He pointed out he was 11th at World Juniors in 2011 and then gradually got better before making the big break in 2011 when he became coached by Alberto Salazar. Of that he said, “and then making that big breakthrough to be coached by Alberto Salazar in terms of myself improving just 1 or 2% and that’s the difference in me becoming a champion instead of finishing 6th.
Mo Farah Calls This the “Sweetest” Of Them All
Mo was asked if this was the sweetest of his World titles. He said, “It definitely was the sweetest by far. Early on in the race, I had a stitch and it was important that I got over that… In my honest opinion I thought the race would go harder.”
Bernard Lagat Battles Father Time
Lagat didn’t take solace in being first in the 35+ division. The former World 5000m champ will be 39 by the time the next time Worlds come.
Ryan Hill, 10th in the Final, Says He Has Chosen His Nike Group
Ryan has said he’s picked which Nike group he’ll go train with but doesn’t want to announce it yet. He compared it to being recruited by college. His next race is a 1000m.
Interestingly before he talked to us, when he talked to USATF he wasn’t sure what place he was. He said, “I’m not sure what place I came in yet. It kind of matters. I think I was either eleventh or tenth. Tenth I will be pretty happy. Eleventh I won’t be very happy. I didn’t have the best strength-speed combo to keep up with the best guys in the world. I’m a little disappointed but I am happy with how long I was in contact with them. It was a great experience today.”
Brett Robinson of Australia Thrilled to Make it to Final
Galen Rupp
Galen Rupp did not talk to the internet media but did say to USATF, “It went back and forth a little bit. We talked about everything we could’ve done. It’s not going to finish the way it always does. It’s (pace changes) always a possibility. You never know for sure how it’s going to go. We try to prepare for every possibility and do the best you can. I’m a little tired but I recovered pretty well. Just got to get back to training and go on to the next one.”
