‘I’m not finished yet’ vows Farah after Olympic blow

LONDON: Britain’s Mo Farah has vowed to end his career on a high note despite failing to earn a chance to defend his Olympic 10,000m crown in Tokyo.

Farah won the 5,000m and 10,000m double at both the London and Rio Olympics. But the 38-year-old will not compete in Japan after falling short in his final qualification bid in Manchester on Friday.

That was a crushing blow for Farah, but he is determined not to step away from athletics until he has enjoyed one more “massive” moment. “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,” Farah told TalkSport on Monday.

“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.” After his Olympics heroics in 2012 and 2016, Farah admitted his failure to qualify for Tokyo came as a shock.

“The Olympics only come around every four years and when the opportunity comes you’ve got to take it, but this is the reality now, I’m not going. I’m so disappointed,” he said. “But I’ve said from day one, if I can’t compete with the best out there, I wouldn’t bother. If I’m not capable of that, why would I turn up just to make it on the team? I wouldn’t do that.”