European Athletics (EAA) – News – Britain’s Mo Farah sets European 10000m record – 37. NIKE Prefontaine Classic

Great Britain’s Mo Farah, the 2010 European Athletics Championships 5000m and 10000m gold medallist, added to his growing list of accolades when he set a European record of 26:46.57 for the longer distance in Eugene, Oregon, on Friday night.

In a race that had been designed for fast times, the 28-year-old form south London took more than five seconds off the previous European record of 26:52.30, which had been set by Belgium’s Mohammed Mourhit in 1999.

Into the bargain, he also obliterated Jon Brown's British 13-year-old British record of 27:18.14, which had been in his and Chris Thompson’s sights for the last 18 months. It was also the fastest time in the world for nearly two years.

After the field had hit the halfway point in 13:26.05, Farah hit the front with three laps to go and just poured it on over the final 1200 metres, covering the last kilometre in 2:30.72.

"I just sat at the back and worked my way through the field," said Farah whose previous fastest time over 25 laps of the track was the 2010 European-leading mark of 27:28.26.

"This is definitely a special track. If it wasn't for the crowd I would never have done this. With three laps to go I knew I had the chance for the record."

Farah made the bold decision to move from his London home with his family in March and train with the renowned coach, and former top class marathoner, Alberto Salazar in nearby Portland.

“I’m not surprised at all (that Farah broke the record),” commented Salazar.

“I predicted he would run 26:50. I told him the first step tonight is to break 27 minutes. You can beat a lot of guys, and you might finish in fifth or sixth. But who knows? You might have a chance to win. It was going to have to be conservative, and he listened,” added Farah’s coach.

European Athletics (EAA) – News