Mo Farah won the 5,000m and 10,000m at the World Championships last month
Express.co.uk
Saturday, September 14, 2013
Mo Farah will next year try to become the fastest man ever over 5,000 and 10,000 metres - a feat current world record holder Kenenisa Bekele believes the Briton is capable of.
The Somalia-born long-distance runner has become one of the stars of national and international sport over the past year.
After winning Olympic gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at London 2012,
he last month won both events again at the World Championships in
Moscow.
Ethiopian great Bekele is the only other athlete to have completed
the double-double and has been impressed by Farah - a man he thinks is
capable of breaking his world records.
"The record is not easy, but Mo is in great shape, in a great position," he told Press Association Sport.
"I think he will do it if he really wants to be part of the records,
maybe he should try. I think he will [beat the record] if he tried
hard."
Farah seemed genuinely touched by Bekele's words and looked rather taken aback.
"It is great to hear," he told Press Association Sport.
"It would be nice to actually ask him questions on what he did when he was training for it and the preparation it takes.
"For me, I have always been a championship runner rather than times
but I would like to be able to improve my time. I don't know [if I can
achieve it]. I will give it a try next year I guess."
It would be quite the cherry on the cake for Farah, whose main target
moving forward is replicating his track success on the road.
"The marathon is the biggest goal," said Farah, who will run the 2014
London Marathon. "Next year I have a couple of halves and then
hopefully step up towards the marathon. It should be exciting."
This year is not over yet, though, with the Bupa Great North Run coming up on Sunday.
It will be the first time he has completed the Newcastle half
marathon, competing as part of a mouth-watering line-up that includes
Bekele as well as fellow great Haile Gebrselassie.
"I said way before I was going to do this and end my season in Newcastle Quayside," Farah added.
"This year I am making my full debut in the half marathon.
"I have watched this race with Haile and other great athletes over
the years, but this year it can't get any better. The line-up of
Kenenisa, Haile and myself - it should be a very good race.
"It is very exciting to go up north and hopefully the home crowd will
make a big difference. For me, this is my last race for the year and
that's it. Put my feet up and go on a nice holiday on the beach."