Is Mo Farah running at the Tokyo Olympics? Why is Team GB star missing from the 10,000m final? Has he retired?

ByDan Gibbs

Published 30/07/2021 at 09:22 GMT

Sir Mo Farah scooped gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m at London 2012 and Rio 2016 but we are now set for a new Olympic champion in both events with the British athlete failing to qualify for Tokyo 2020. With four gold medals, Farah is Team GB’s most successful athletics star in history. You want it? We have it. Stream every Olympic event live on discovery+

The athletics is finally underway at Tokyo 2020 and day one will see the first medal event - the men's 10,000m.

The 10,000m final gets underway at the Japan National Stadium and will begin at 12:30 BST (20:30 local time) on Friday, 30 July.

But British Olympic fans tuning into the race in the hope of seeing Sir Mo Farah lining up on the start line are set to be disappointed.

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Sam Atkin and Marc Scott will be flying the flag for Team GB instead in today's 10,000m final.

World record holder Joshua Cheptegei (26:11.00) is among the favourites, but with a host of talented runners in the field, the competition is wide open.

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Why is Mo Farah not at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?

Farah had been hoping to defend his 10,000m title in Tokyo but failed to qualify.

In June 2021, an invitational event was put on to give Farah the chance to book his seat on the plane but he fell short.

Farah needed to go under 27 minutes, 28 seconds to earn his place but he clocked 27 minutes, 47.04 seconds.

“You go out there and give it all and that’s all you have,” he said. “It’s quite windy. I tried to push and push and I ran my lungs out.

“I’ve had a wonderful career. I’m very grateful. That’s all I had today. It’s a tough one. I’ve always said if I can’t compete with the best, I’m not going to be in a final. Tonight wasn’t good enough.”

The invitational race was the second chance Farah had to qualify having also failed to hit the allocated time during the 10,000m trials in Birmingham at the start of June.

After finishing as the second Brit home in eighth on that occasion, taking 27 minutes, 50.54 seconds, he blamed an ankle problem for hampering his attempt.

It proved to be the first time he had lost a 10,000m race in a decade having decided to return to the track after focusing on the marathon since 2017.

Mo Farah failed to achieve the time needed to qualify for Tokyo 2020

Image credit: Getty Images

Has Mo Farah retired from Olympic running?

Farah has not officially confirmed his retirement from sport just yet.

However, at 38 years of age, Farah will be into his forties when the next Olympics in Paris come around in 2024, and it's not a common sight to see long-distance runners competing at that age at the highest level.

Speaking after failing to qualify last month, Farah insisted: "At the moment in my career, I feel like I'm not finished yet. I know I can do it and I will not end it like this.

"I want to end it with something massive. Although obviously nothing is going to be as big as the Olympics, I want to come back out and do something great.

"That's what makes us champions. You have to continue, you have to go over many hurdles and you have to push on. At the moment, it's tough, but I will continue. You'll see that smile again."

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