Farah refuses to be fall guy in 5,000m
BRITAIN’S Mo Farah hopes to dodge the three strikes and you’re out mantra after suffering a scare in his bid for a long-distance double at the World Athletics Championship in Beijing yesterday.
Defending champion Farah – hunting a record-breaking third twin title at major global events – qualified for Saturday’s 5,000m final second in his heat behind Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha.
But as in Sunday’s 10,000m final, in which he won gold, he briefly lost his balance and almost fell, this time after tangling with training partner Galen Rupp and Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed.
“I nearly went down. That’s twice. I hope it doesn’t become third time bad luck,” said Farah. “Somebody caught my leg. I’ve got a long stride, it’s the way I run. I don’t blame anyone.”
British sprint sensation Dina Asher-Smith, meanwhile, ran a new personal best of 22.22 seconds to reach the 200m semi-finals.
Pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw, who only returned from a career-threatening injury back in June, recorded a season’s best 4.70m as she came seventh.
European champion Eilidh Child posted a sixth-place finish in the 400m hurdles final, while Sudan-born Briton Rabah Yousif was sixth in the 400m final.