With one final gut-wrenching effort, Mo Farah brought the curtain down on his track career in thrilling, triumphant style.
It was close – just about as nail-bitingly close as any victory he has managed over the course of his long and illustrious career. But it was a win on which to bow out and the smile as he stepped off the Zurich track was enormous.
“It’s probably going to hit me later,” he said. “I’m really going to miss all this, but everything must come to an end. What a way to end my career.”
Farah had been in no doubt as to the scale of the challenge he faced in this Zurich Diamond League 5,000m that marked the finale to his track career. Despite a haul of four Olympic and six world titles, he had insisted he was the underdog up against Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris, who had upset the apple cart in such dramatic circumstances to claim gold at the London 2017 World Championships a fortnight ago .
The race proved a cagey affair for the bulk of proceedings, only flickering into light when Farah opted to hit the front with 600m remaining. Even then, there was no big move forthcoming until all fireworks erupted with the finishing line in sight.