Mo Farah overcomes mid-race fall to win third Olympic gold medal

In a dramatic race, Farah recovered from a mid-race fall to power to victory over the final 100m.

Gaining his eighth global gold after his five world titles and London 2012 Olympic double, Farah always seemed in control, except during the split second he was on the ground.

“Is the race over?” For one moment I was thinking, ‘Oh my race is over, my dream is over, ‘ ” Farah said.

Rupp dropped back to check on his friend.

Should the 33-year-old manage it he would emulate Finnish great Lasse Viren, now the only man to complete the distance “double double”, by retaining the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m titles. Farah is known for his unmatched finishing kick, so wearing him down is the only way to win.

Elaine Thompson, another Jamaican, routed the field in 10.71 seconds, with Fraser-Pryce taking bronze in 10.86.

This makes him the first British athlete to win three gold medals on the track.

While Rutherford was just two centimetres off his golden 2012 performance, this time 8.29m bagged him the bronze as a rollercoaster competition saw him beaten by Jeff Henderson of USA and South Africa’s Luvo Manyonga.

Kenya has won two medals, both bronze. Most recently, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele won gold medals in 2004 and 2008, and fellow Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie won the two previous gold medals.

“He did the same thing with Flo Jo”, Henderson continued, referring to Joyner’s wife, the late Florence Griffith Joyner, the 100 and 200 meter Olympic champion in Seoul.

At the ten minute stage, the field was beginning to become more stretched as the pace picked up a little; Demelash sat in second, with Kamworor in fourth and Farah in fifth, surrounded by Muchiri and Tenui.

“It feels fantastic to make history and to be along with Kenenisa and Haile”, he said.

Britain’s Mo Farah wipes his eye after winning the men’s 10,000-meter final during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016.

Olympic silver medalist and former world champion Steve Cram, who now works as a commentator for the BBC said:”The manner of his victory was a familiar one, but this takes him into a place where no other British athlete has been”. “We’ll give it a go”. Farah also had history on his side.

Great Britain also won a silver medal in the men’s 4×100 metres medley relay.