LONG BEFORE HE was conquering the tracks of the Olympic Games, Mo Farah dominated the streets of the Twin Towns.
Back in December 2006, Farah won the St Stephen’s Day 5k, hosted by Finn Valley AC.
Farah won the race in a blistering 13 minutes and 29 seconds, a course record that is unlikely to be surpassed.
Boxer Jason Quigley ran in the same race and completed in 18 minutes and 43 seconds.
Farah, the Somali-bron British athlete, won the men’s 10,000m at the Olympic Games in Rio last night.
[adrotate group=”81″]He is managed by PACE Sports Management, the company of Ricky Simms, the Milford native and former Finn Valley AC runner, who was behind Farah’s appearance in Donegal ten years ago.
During his time in the county, Farah trained around Ballybofey and Stranorlar and stayed in the area with Kieran Carlin – who was at the Estádio Olímpico João Havelange last night to witness Farah’s gold medal win.
Mo Farah trains with Finn Valley AC’s Pat Hegarty in Drumboe in 2006
His time in the 5k equalled the British all-time best for a 5k. Farah since beat his own time when he did 12:53.11 in Moscow in 2011.
Last night, Farah fell when he collided with American Galen Rupp, but recovered to take gold in 27 minutes and 5.17 seconds.
In retaining the medal he won in London four years ago, Farah became just the sixth man to win two Olympic 10,000m golds, entering a list that contained only Paavo Nurmi, Emil Zátopek, Lasse Virén, Haile Gebrselassie and Kenenisa Bekele.
Next week, Farah will bid to retain his 5,000m title. Only Virén has managed to win both titles twice and Farah will have a sizeable Finn Valley AC support roaring him on.
