News08 May 2013


Farah targets fifth London 10km title

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Mo Farah wins the 2011 'Bupa London 10,000' (© © Getty Images)

Mo Farah will target his fifth straight victory at the 2013 Bupa London 10,000 on 27 May when he headlines an elite field containing some of Britain’s finest distance runners.

The double Olympic champion has been an ever-present at this 10km central London road event since it started in 2008. After finishing third in the inaugural race, he has dominated ever since, winning four in a row and notching up British records in 2009 and 2010. His winning time three years ago of 27:44 remains the men’s course record.

Last year he chose to cruise home in a relatively modest 29:21 as he geared up for a glorious summer which climaxed at the Olympic Games last August when he won gold in the 5000m and 10,000m.

This year’s race will give the poster boy of British distance running a chance to assess his form and fitness ahead of the IAAF World Championships in Moscow where he hopes to retain his 5000m title and add the World 10,000m crown to his growing collection of honours.

Farah’s main threat will come from fellow Briton and former training partner Scott Overall, who was runner-up behind Farah last year in 29:26 just a couple of months before he represented Britain in the Olympic Marathon last August.

British international Amy Whitehead leads the women’s field on her Bupa London 10,000 debut. The 34-year-old was 13th in the 2013 Virgin London Marathon last month, the second Briton home behind Susan Partridge.

Once a junior cross-country international snapping at Paula Radcliffe’s heels, Whitehead emerged from an enforced break due to injuries, motherhood and teaching to smash her Marathon best at the 2011 London Marathon despite setting off from the mass start.

Whitehead will line up against Steph Twell, another athlete who has faced injury troubles in recent years. The former World junior 1500m champion won the European junior cross country title three times between 2006 and 2008. She was also a member of Britain’s Beijing 2008 Olympic team, but a fractured ankle in 2011 and a further foot injury in June last year ended her hopes of competing at London 2012.

Twell will make her Bupa London 10,000 debut just 24 hours after competing in the Westminster Mile. The Scot has a 10km road PB of 32:35 so should be considered a real contender for the women’s title.

Organisers for the IAAF

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