After his failure to become the only man to win gold in the same event in three consecutive Olympics, he switched from the track to the road. In addition to his 25 world records, he held 2 world records in the marathon. So he is the man to do it, isn’t he? Well maybe not any more. At the age of 40 he is still beating records but not world records. At the Great Scottish Run in October this year he set a new course record. In his career on the road he hasn’t beaten this illusive two hour mark. So can anyone beat this time?
Speculation is that the current Olympic and World Champion for both the 5000m and 10000m is the man to do it, Mo Farah. Mo Farah with the help of his coach Alberto Salazar, has been able to break the previous African blockade of the Kenyans and Ethiopians over these distances. Which in itself was an interesting rivalry between the the African nations but we always longed for some to break through and Mo did. However, he did this with the help of his training partner Galen Rupp. With Mo’s gaze set on taking up the marathon in the not too distant future, many reporters have said that he is the one to do it. If Mo is the guy to do it he will have to be clocking close to 4 minute 20 seconds for each mile. If he breaks the current world record he will be the tenth British runner to do so. Will he break the two hour mark? It’s hard to tell if he will. The next year or two that he has left on the track will tell us more about his ability to do it or not.
Author: Philip McGrath – BB in Recreation and Sport Management Graduate 2014