Mo Farah proved he is still the undisputed king of distance running by racing to 10,000 metres gold at the World Championships in Moscow tonight.
The double Olympic champion produced his now customary devastating final lap to defeat the Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan, the man who pipped him to the crown two years ago in Daegu.
The Briton took the lead with two laps to go, having recovered from an apparent stumble, and had the strength in the home straight to hold off Jeilan and take victory in 27 minutes 21.71 seconds.
The victory made up for the disappointment of Daegu when Farah was beaten into silver by Jeilan, an athlete he admitted he had never heard of before the race.
He responded by winning the 5,000m title and then unforgettably taking double gold at the Olympic Stadium.
The 30-year-old had said ahead of Moscow he now has a target on his back every time he raced, but warned his rivals he was a better athlete this year than at London 2012.
He was not wrong. Farah has honed his ferocious kick, helped by the sort of speed which saw him break the European 1500m record in Monaco last month, and his finishing speed was once again in evidence here.
A 54.49secs last lap saw off his rivals and Farah spread his arms wide as he crossed the line, even if the cheers from the meagre crowd inside the Luzhniki Stadium was in stark contrast to the roar which urged him on last summer.
Usain Bolt gave Luzhniki Stadium a split-second scare before jogging to victory in his 100 metres heats. The Jamaican dramatically false-started in the final in Daegu two years ago, leading to a disqualification, and there were gasps around the arena when the recall gun went again - but this time Bolt was not the guilty party.
After seeing Kemar Hyman of the Cayman Islands leave the track, the world record holder got his customary slow start before pulling clear and easing down to win in 10.07 seconds. Asked if he was worried by the false start, Bolt told BBC One:
“No. I saw him, he moved, he moved. I could see him move so I knew it was him so no I didn’t.”
