Mo Farah ready for emotional final London Marathon
Farah will have his last dance on Sunday April 23 in London
Photo by:
Kevin Morris
On Sunday, April 23, one of the greatest British distance runners in history, Mo Farah, will lace up his shoes for his last London Marathon. Farah confirmed at the 2023 London Marathon elite press conference on Thursday that this marathon will be his last, and how he’s ready to take it all in.
"Sunday will be my last Marathon. It won't be my last race, but my body's not allowing me" 🥹
Sir Mo Farah will compete in a Marathon for the last time in his career on Sunday when he takes on the 2023 TCS London Marathon in front of a home crowd.#LondonMarathon #WeRunTogether pic.twitter.com/seeH6wB9UX
— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 20, 2023
Farah predicts he will feel emotional about retiring from marathon running on Sunday. “It won’t be my last race, but in terms of the marathon, London is the last,” Farah said at the 2023 London Marathon press conference. “The support, the people coming out in London, I think that will get to me, but I will try not to think about it, and run.”
His wife Tania and his three kids will watch and cheer Farah on for the final marathon of his historic career.
He is a four-time Olympic champion from London 2012 and Rio 2016 and a six-time world champion in the 5,000 and 10,000m. He hoped to defend his back-to-back titles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but struggled with injuries and failed to qualify.
Farah, 40, planned to run at the 2022 London Marathon, but had to pull out with a hip injury a few weeks before the race. He told reporters that he has been training in Ethiopia and is ready for his final appearance.
He added: “I started running at the mini-marathon here, so for me, it will be quite emotional. When I was 14 years old, I watched great athletes run on Sunday while I took part in the mini-marathon.”
His best finish at the London Marathon comes from 2018, where he finished third to none other than Eliud Kipchoge in 2:06:21. The same year, Farah earned the only major marathon win of his career at the 2018 Chicago Marathon, winning in a British record of 2:05:11.
Farah will likely finish his career holding British records from the 1,500m to the marathon.
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