Mo Farah after his 13:09.14 win in London (© Getty Images)
Mo Farah of Great Britain and Ines Monteiro of Portugal took their respective titles at the European Cup 10,000m in Marseille on Saturday (5), both running personal bests.
In just his second outing over the distance on the track, Farah, the reigning European 5000m silver medallist, clocked 27:28.86 to knock nearly 16 seconds from his 27:44.54 previous best from 2008. Shadowing Kenyan pacemaker Philemon Limo from the outset, Farah ran from the front throughout to win by nearly 44 seconds.
His victory now opens the door for a possible double at the European Championships in Barcelona in July, where he has already set the 5000m as his chief priority.
More than half a lap behind the Briton, Abdellatif Meftah of France was a distant second in 28:12.83, with Chema Martinez of Spain, the 2009 winner, taking third in 28:13.82.
In the women’s contest, Monteiro defended her Cup title in 31:13.58, slicing more than 10 seconds from her previous best of 31:25.67 set at last year’s World Championships final where she finished 10th.
Germany's Sabrina Mockenhaupt was second in 31:23.86 with Portugal’s Sara Moreira third in 31:26.55 in her debut over the distance.
Portugal successfully defended their women’s team title thanks to Fernanda Ribeiro, the 1995 World and 1996 Olympic champion, who finished seventh in 32:25.61. Ribeiro will celebrate her 41st birthday on 23 June.
Star marathoners Christelle Daunay (32:02.04) of France and Irina Mikitenko (32:48.69) were fifth and ninth, respectively.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
Click here for full results
In just his second outing over the distance on the track, Farah, the reigning European 5000m silver medallist, clocked 27:28.86 to knock nearly 16 seconds from his 27:44.54 previous best from 2008. Shadowing Kenyan pacemaker Philemon Limo from the outset, Farah ran from the front throughout to win by nearly 44 seconds.
His victory now opens the door for a possible double at the European Championships in Barcelona in July, where he has already set the 5000m as his chief priority.
More than half a lap behind the Briton, Abdellatif Meftah of France was a distant second in 28:12.83, with Chema Martinez of Spain, the 2009 winner, taking third in 28:13.82.
In the women’s contest, Monteiro defended her Cup title in 31:13.58, slicing more than 10 seconds from her previous best of 31:25.67 set at last year’s World Championships final where she finished 10th.
Germany's Sabrina Mockenhaupt was second in 31:23.86 with Portugal’s Sara Moreira third in 31:26.55 in her debut over the distance.
Portugal successfully defended their women’s team title thanks to Fernanda Ribeiro, the 1995 World and 1996 Olympic champion, who finished seventh in 32:25.61. Ribeiro will celebrate her 41st birthday on 23 June.
Star marathoners Christelle Daunay (32:02.04) of France and Irina Mikitenko (32:48.69) were fifth and ninth, respectively.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
Click here for full results
