Legendary distance runner Mo Farah fails to qualify for Tokyo Olympics
'I ran my lungs out,' 4-time Summer Games champion says of 10,000-metre effort
Mo Farah failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics on Friday and will not defend his 10,000-metre title.
The four-time Olympic champion, split between the 5,000 and 10,000, missed the qualifying time in an invitational 10,000 at the British athletics championships in Manchester, England.
Farah needed to go under 27 minutes 28 seconds to earn his place on the plane to Tokyo ahead of Sunday's deadline but he clocked 27:47.0 and will not defend the 10,000 title he won in 2012 and 2016 in London and Rio, respectively.
"You go out there and give it all and that's all you have," said Britain's multiple world distance champion. "It's quite windy. I tried to push and push and I ran my lungs out.
"I've had a wonderful career. I'm very grateful. That's all I had today. It's a tough one. I've always said if I can't compete with the best, I'm not going to be in a final. Tonight wasn't good enough."
He was the second Brit home in eighth on that occasion, stopping the clock in 27:50.54, and blamed an ankle problem for hampering his attempt.
It was the first time he had lost a 10,000 race in a decade having decided to return to the track after focusing on the marathon since 2017.
Farah was also a double Olympic champion in the 5,000.
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