By Scott M. Reid, The Orange County Register –
LONDON — When it was over Kenya’s Thomas Longosiwa could only shake his head, more in awe than frustration.
Longosiwa was one of several men who attacked Great Britain’s Mo Farah during the frantic closing 700 meters of a tactical Olympic Games 5,000-meters final Saturday night. Farah appeared increasingly vulnerable with every move on him only to repel each and ultimately have enough time and space to celebrate the most difficult of Olympic doubles.
(PHOTO: Great Britain’s Mohamed Farah, right, leads the pack en route to victory in the men’s 5000m final at the Summer Olympics on Saturday, August 11, 2012, in London, England.)
That was what had Longosiwa shaking his head a half-hour later.
“There’s not many people like him (Farah) out there,” Longosiwa said.
There haven’t been many men like Farah in distance running history.
With a 13-minute, 41.66-second victory that for the second time in eight days electrified Olympic Stadium, Farah claimed a spot on distance running’s Dream Team. He joined the likes of Czech Emil Zatopek, Finland’s Lasse Viren, Ethiopia’s Miruts Yifter and Kenenisa Bekele as one of just seven men to sweep the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 gold medals in the same Games.
Bernard Lagat, the 2007 world 1,500 and 5,000 champion put Farah in perhaps an even more exclusive club after Saturday night’s triumph.
“I think he’s in Rudisha’s level right now,” said Lagat, who finished fourth Saturday in 13:42.99 despite getting bumped twice in the final 150 meters, the second contact nearly sending him crashing to the track. “Those are unbelievable athletes.”
Rudisha is David Rudisha, Kenya’s world record-shattering half-miler, a man Lagat and many others in the sport consider to be track and field’s current gold standard.
Rudisha and Farah have contrasting styles that produce similar results. Rudisha, is a tall, 6-feet-3, and powerful front runner. He led every step of the way in his 1: 40.91 800-meter world record triumph Thursday night. London organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe, holder of the 800 world record for 18 years, called it the “performance of the Olympics.” Farah, 5-foot-7 and bone thin, likes tactical races where he can look for an opening in the final 800 to 400 meters to pounce.
In last Saturday’s 10,000 final, Farah, like Galen Rupp, his training partner under Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, bided his time while the race proceeded at a cautious pace before blazing the final 400 in 53.46 seconds, Rupp right behind in second.
The 5,000 was even slower. “Nobody took (the pace),” Lagat said. Finally, Lopez Lomong of the U.S. led past the mile in 4:44.2 just under 14:40 pace. Lomong continued to lead until Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel surged with 1,900 meters left. Further surges by Gebremeskel and teammate Yenew Alamirew did little to thin the pack.
“We made mistakes,” Gebremeskel said. “We planned to make the race fast but we didn’t do that. Although we tried to make it fast at the end it was too late.”
Farah still had plenty of company when he moved into the lead at the top of the backstretch with 700 meters left. Then the racing began. Rupp pulled up on Farah’s shoulder with 550 to go. Kenyan 18-year-old Isiah Koech tried a move. Gebremeskel tried to pass at the bell and Farah held him off. He then fought off a move from Longosiwa. He still had five men with his at 200 to go, among them Lagat, who seemed poised to move around the turn only to get hung up with Koech, the tangle shredding his Nike spikes, leaving a three-inch rip exposing his right toes for the final 100.
By that point Farah had gunned it with only Gebremeskel and Longosiwa in contention as they raced into a deafening roar of 80,000 fans. Getting around a final charge by Longosiwa, Gebremeskel pulled even but not ahead of Farah. Again the Briton responded, finally finding enough breathing room in the final 30 meters to kiss both his hands and then spread his arms wide as he crossed the finish line. He had covered the last 400 in 52.94, the final mile in 4 minutes flat.
“There’s no way to describe this,” said Farah, who was born in Somalia but immigrated to England with his family as a 9-year-old. “As a youngster, an athlete, you dream to be Olympic champion. To do it twice is just unbelievable.”
Gebremeskel took the silver in 13:41.98, Longosiwa the bronze at 13:42.36. Rupp was seventh in 13:45.04. Farah’s double marked the first Games that a runner from an African nation had failed to win either the Olympic 5,000 or 10,000 since Viren’s second sweep in Montreal in 1976 when the African nations boycotted the Games.
It was a victory that also left Lagat, the 37-year-old veteran, speechless.
“I can’t even put into words,” Lagat said. “In the 10k he ran and looked so easy. Today, honestly when I was looking at him and when we were almost at the bell I wasn’t sure he was going to be able to pull it together. But then he was able to. That’s an amazing run and one of the greatest athletes we have seen in this sport.”