Frustrated Farah vows to better marathon time
DOUBLE Olympic champion Mo Farah last night vowed to continue running marathons after narrowly missing out on the British record on his debut over 26.2 miles in London yesterday.
Farah clocked two hours, eight minutes and 21 seconds to finish in eighth place, 68 seconds shy of Steve Jones’s 29-year-old British record and almost four minutes behind the winner, Wilson Kipsang of Kenya.
The 31-year-old Londoner had no regrets about taking on a field boasting four of the fastest marathon runners of all time, but felt he had left some unfinished business behind on the capital’s streets.
“I’m not going to finish it like this,” said Farah, who won 5,000m and 10,000m gold at London 2012.
“I’ll be back, it’s a matter of experience and learning. I’ve gone straight in at the deep end, but that’s what athletics is all about.
“This is my city. It would have been wrong to do my first marathon somewhere else; I had to do it here. I’m just disappointed I didn’t go out there and give a bit more to the crowd and all of the supporters.”
Defending champion Tsegaye Kebede finished third, with Kenya’s Stanley Biwott second.
Britain’s Chris Thompson, a European silver medallist over 10,000m, placed 11th in 2:11.19 in his first marathon.
Two-time world champion Edna Kiplagat won the women’s race, with Kenyan compatriot Florence Kiplagat coming a close second. Amy Whitehead was the first Briton over the line in 13th place.
British six-time Paralympic gold medallist David Weir missed out on a record seventh London Marathon title, finishing behind Marcel Hug of Switzerland in a sprint finish down the Mall.
America’s Tatyana McFadden, who won cross-country skiing silver at the Winter Paralympics in Sochi, successfully defended her crown in the women’s race in a course record 1:45.12.