Farah joins the Immortals

miles clear at the top

Best British Athlete Ever IMO

What a man.

Thought he was beaten mid race. The guts he showed when they all queued up and try to pass him was immense!

Coe has 2 Gold Medals though from the 1500m and 2 silver from the 800m.

And I'd say the competition was arguably a wee bit harder.

Well done Mo.

Not sure how he could have been beaten mid race, when they were walking up to this point?

He was assisted by the fact that HRE laid him huge though, so that takes some of the gloss off it.

HRE laying someone is akin to them being drugged up to the eyeballs with performance enhancing substances!

Steve Crabb and Tom McKean still the top 2 imo, but Mo is now a clear 3rd after these championships.

Cheers BP. Hard to disagree with that ice cool and detached assessment.

Tom McKean's a tactical legend.  The way he slowed right down on that line and got caught by the two or three athletes behind him...

HansUlrichApfelStrudel 11 Aug 12 19:57 
Well done Mo.

Not sure how he could have been beaten mid race, when they were walking up to this point? Confused

Just looked like he was struggling a bit when they upped the pace.

Tom 'Ballinger Ridge' McKean

got to be one of the best african runners this century.

give it 50/75 years 99.85% of the UK population will never have heard his name let alone know who he was.

I wasn't sure he had the legs and while everyone else's tactics played right into Mo's hands, still a British legend after tonight. Years of hard work and at times heartache made tonight all worthwhile for Mo.

And I'd say the competition was arguably a wee bit harder.

Was it? Both games were boycotted so it was prob weaker - no drugged up eastern Europeans at LA for starters.

no drugged up americans and caribbean islanders in moscow

coe had the 800 wr for 16 years (a far more competitive event than the 5k/10k which attracts all the slowboats that can't compete over 1500). farrah is workmanlike, rudisha is great. run the 5k 100 times with different splits you'll get 10 different winners. rudisha would have won that race under any circumstances. BUT keep believing your hearts, cos i need to get a wedge back from mo after tonight.

Rudisha won that race for himself. Mo knew his best chance of winning the 5k and 10k and he did the job he had to do.

I'd say the 2 performances together are prob the best (how many times has it been done before?) but he needs to stay at the top for a few years and maybe post a v fast time in at least 1 of the events to be at the pinnacle.

imo, the 5k was won cos mo and/or his coach had the best tactical brain, in what unfortunately turned into a tactical race. whatever it was it wasn't a test of the best 5k athlete.

I think Farah is the sixth man to do the double. Of those Lasse Viren did it twice. In addition, Paavo Nurmi won both but not in the same games. Note that the great Haile Gebrsellaise didn't win the 5k though I'm not sure he even entered it.

and ask 1000 people under 20 who lasse viren is and 1000 will have no idea

I think my knowledge of Viren is pretty much limited to the biopic film about Steve Prefontaine.

Prefontaine, now there was a legend

surely by its very nature it's the hardest double to do. by comparison the 100/200 double is a piece of cake physically at least

The fact it was in front of 80,000 screaming maniacs epecting him to win cranks up the pressure and difficulty as well! Wherever it ranks it was a great performance  - arise Sir Mohammed.....

Coe,Ovett,Cram and Thompson all well clear of Farah imo.

Plus he is half Somali,aint he?