Rio Olympics 2016: Mo Farah chasing history as he bids to become first Briton to win three gold medals on the track
MO FARAH lives on a different planet to mere mortals which is why he will be DEVASTATED if he does not bring home two more Olympic golds.
The British star begins his campaign to make history tonight when he defends his 10,000m title.
And next weekend Farah will be hoping to keep hold of his 5,000m crown.
No British athlete has ever won THREE Olympic golds on the track and the 33-year-old is also bidding to become only the second man after Lasse Viren in 1976 to retain two Olympic distance titles.
Farah has already achieved the world double-double having defended his 10,000m and 5,000m titles in Beijing last summer.
It took his tally of major crowns to seven, having also won the 5,000m world crown in Daegu in 2011.
And he said: “I’d be devastated if I didn’t win two golds again.
“It would be amazing to be the first British athlete to win three Olympic golds on the track — or even four.
"I know many British athletes who try to even win one medal or never get one in their career, so to say I could win three or four would be incredible."
RELATED STORIES
Astonishingly, Farah also believes he is in the best shape of his life — better than in the run-up to his London 2012 glory.
Kenyan coach Julius Kirwa has already baited Farah, claiming his athletes had been training like an army squadron to finally take on the Brit as a team.
He will face the formidable trio of Paul Tanui, Bedan Karoki and Geoffrey Kamworor over 10,000m.
Farah took bronze behind Kamworor when he won at the World Half-Marathon Championships in Cardiff earlier this year and afterwards predicted he would be the biggest obstacle to him retaining the 10,000m Olympic title.
But he added: “I’m not going to lie to you. I’m in decent shape. I’ve ticked all the boxes in races this year.
“Now it’s where you tell yourself, ‘What more can I do guys?’
“It’s just the tactics now. It’s four years on and the Kenyans have to come up with something at some point.”
Farah also admits he didn't realise his life would change so much when he sat waiting in London’s Olympic Stadium to go out on the track four years ago for the 10,000m showdown.
He said: “I remember we were in France at training camp, watching the opening ceremony. It was getting close, then two or three days before the race I went straight to the athletes’ village rather than go home to the house in London.
“Then warming up, hearing the crowd in the stadium and taking a deep breath to to out on the track. It was incredible.”
Farah, who has been based in Portland, USA, since 2011 with wife Tanya and now four children, said: "Life has changed 100 per cent.
“I remember someone saying, ‘do you know what is going to happen, your life could change’. I was like ‘nah man, I’ll be all right’.
“And then like winning it I couldn't even go outside without being mobbed.
“I wore a hoodie and sunglasses to jump on the train and see my family. I couldn’t be Mo walking down the street. But it’s worth it. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
Tweet @vikkiorvice
