Top 5 Mo Farah career moments

Sunday marked the end of an era for one of the greatest distance runners in history. Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah hung up his racing shoes at the Great North Run in Newcastle, U.K. with a fourth-place finish over 21.1K. Farah’s 10 global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever. Most will remember Farah for his fierce racing style over 5,000m and the ‘Mo-Bot’ celebration that electrified millions across the world during the London and Rio Olympics.

Farah’s career is filled with achievements that have solidified his legacy as one of the greatest long-distance runners in history. Here is a countdown of the most iconic moments of his career. 

5. Breaking the two-mile world record

In 2015, Farah set a world indoor record for two miles, running a jaw-dropping 8:03.40 on home soil at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix. This was the first world record of his career.

4. Chicago Marathon win

In his third attempt at the marathon distance, Farah struck gold by winning the 2018 Chicago Marathon in a British national record time of 2:05:11. Many fans had questioned whether he could replicate the success he had on the track on the roads, and his record-setting victory in Chicago settled the debate. This achievement also placed Farah among the elite company of athletes who have won Olympic gold and a world marathon major. Farah still holds every British distance record from the 10K to the marathon.

3. Celebrating with Usain Bolt

While Usain Bolt and Farah never competed head-to-head except on the football pitch, they often interacted at international track and field events, including the Olympic Games and World Championships, and were each dominant in their events. Bolt was famous for his trademark Lightning Bolt celebration after winning races, and Farah became famous for the ‘Mobot’ celebration, where he formed an ‘M’ shape with his arms above his head. The two were seen swapping each other’s celebrations during the medal ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics, where both Bolt and Farah won two individual gold medals.

2. Double gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics

It’s hard to win, but some say it’s even harder to defend your title when you’ve tasted glory. At the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Farah repeated his double gold medal success, defending his titles in both the 5,000m and 10,000m, and becoming only the second man in history, after Finland’s Lasse Virén, to win both titles at successive Olympic Games. Farah did not lose at a global championship between 2012 and 2016, also winning world titles in both events at the 2013 and 2015 World Athletics Championships–the first man to win both distance titles at both global championships, a feat described as the “quadruple-double.”

1. Double gold at the 2012 London Olympics

The most iconic moment of Farah’s career came at the 2012 London Olympics, when he secured two distance gold medals in front of a packed London Olympic Stadium. His victory in the men’s 10,000m marked Great Britain’s first Olympic gold medal in the event, and it occurred during an evening when two other British athletes also won gold medals for the country in the same athletics session. Farah’s triumphs in the 5,000m and 10,000m events on home soil elevated him to national hero status in the U.K., and his emotional celebrations in front of the home crowd remain unforgettable.