Mo Farah overcomes fall, wins second consecutive gold in men's 10,000 meter

RIO DE JANEIRO — A trip and fall wouldn’t stop Mo Farah from capturing gold again. The runner from Great Britain overcame a fall in the 11th minute of the race to win his second consecutive gold medal in the 10,000 meters.

“When I fell down, I was like, ah. One moment, my race is over, my dream is over,” said Farah after the race. “But then I managed to dig deep. I promised my daughter Rhianna, my oldest daughter, I was gonna get her a medal. And in my mind I was like, ‘nah, I can’t let her down.’

“As soon as I got up, I was hoping that the guys didn’t see me fall down in the front. I didn’t know if they saw it, but they did make a little bit of a surge. I was just thinking, ‘It’s OK. I still got quite a long way.’ ”

Farah’s victory was clinched in a thrilling final lap that saw Kenya’s Paul Tanui burst out to a lead by going into a near-full sprint with 400 meters remaining. Farah stayed with him, though, and in the final 100 meters, Tanui flagged slightly. It was the opening Farah was waiting for, and he found another gear, charging ahead of Tanui and capturing gold as the crowd roared.

The fact that Farah was even in the race after falling made the finish even more implausible.

Moments after getting his feet tangled up with training partner Galen Rupp and tumbling to the track, Farah sprinted to catch up with the other runners, then flashed a thumbs-up to let the American Rupp — and the fans in attendance at Olympic Stadium — know that he was OK.

“Galen is a great sportsman,” said Farah. “Things happen sometimes. It’s so easy to blame people. The things are out of your control. I’ve got such a long stride; I don’t blame him. He tried to help me … He said to me: ‘Are you OK? Come on.’ ”

Farah finished with a time of 27:05.17. Tanui captured silver, with Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia taking the bronze medal. Rupp finished in fifth.

While Farah is one of the most outspoken proponents of a clean sport, his ascension to the top of the distance running world has its doubters.

In 2015, a joint report published by the BBC and ProPublica contained allegations from former athletes and coaches that Alberto Salazar, who has trained Farah, approved usage of banned drugs, including testosterone and prescription medications.

And recently a photo that appears to show Farah and Jama Aden, a Somali coach who was arrested by Spanish police on doping charges, has circulated around the Internet.

Mo Farah's gold medal evening not without minor blemish

Farah dismissed the photos and allegations after the race.

“Obviously it’s a small sport,” said Farah. “Someone asking you to get a picture, you aren’t going to say no, are you? It doesn’t mean you train with them.

“Obviously I believe in clean sport and you do what you can. But you can only control yourself.”

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