Mo Farah returns to the track for Tokyo Olympics

Mo Farah has announced that he will defend his Olympic 10,000m title this summer at the Tokyo 2020 Games. There was speculation that Farah would run the World Championships 10,000m along with the Chicago Marathon this past October–instead he opted to focus on the marathon.

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There, Farah ran his slowest marathon yet, finishing in 2:09:58. The Oregon Project, where Farah formerly trained, was shut down days before Chicago.

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Farah’s marathon personal best is a 2:05:11 from the 2018 London Marathon–which is also a European record. While his 2:05 is impressive, he’s certainly been more dominant on the track.

If Farah can get back to his old 10,000m shape, he would become the oldest man to ever win an Olympic 10,000m title. He won in 2012 and 2016 but the 2020 field will be strong. Among his competitors for the gold medal will likely be Canadian Mohammed Ahmed, Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei and Galen Rupp.

Rupp was Farah’s training partner at NOP and had a similarly disappointing showing in Chicago this year. While the race wasn’t what either runner was looking for, they will surely both be placing huge emphasis on the Olympics and ensure their preparations are strong.

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On the international scene Ahmed remains a lesser-known name but he’s making big improvements. The runner had a fantastic 2019 World Championships. He won a historic bronze medal for Canada in the 5,000m, and broke his own Canadian record and a huge barrier to run a 26:59.35 in the 10,000m.