British media’s obsession with Mo Farah ends in big disappointment

PHOTO | AFP British athlete Mo Farah poses for photographs after completing the men's race in the 2014 London Marathon on The Mall in central London on April 13, 2014. Farah finished in eighth place having failed in his goal to break Steve Jones's British record of 2:07:13, which has stood since 1985.

What you need to know:

  • Anyone that reads the sports pages will be familiar with the hysteria that surrounds coverage of England’s preparations for the football World Cup every time the tournament comes around.
  • After spotting the leading pack among the women, with the two Kiplagats who would eventually finish in the first two positions looking very comfortable just sitting off the pace-setters, it was time to see the men in action.
  • Many participants in the London marathon do it for charity and the aim is to raise awareness at the same time as doing some fund raising.

Few people in the world can whip themselves into a fever of hype and excitement over a sporting event quite like the English.

Anyone that reads the sports pages will be familiar with the hysteria that surrounds coverage of England’s preparations for the football World Cup every time the tournament comes around.

Over the past fortnight, the focus of all the hype has been Mo Farah, the golden boy of British athletics who earned cult-like status for winning the 5,000 and 10,000 metre gold double on home soil in 2012.

Mo was scheduled to make his full marathon debut on the streets of London. It hit me for the first time that the event was around the corner two weeks ago when I went to the restroom in the local restaurant and saw that the sign for the gents had been replaced by Mo’s photo and the ‘Ladies’ signed pulled down and its place taken by a photo of a former marathon favourite, Paula Radcliffe.

Press coverage of the event centred on the Mo question: Was he ready? How would he perform?

Most of the answers were optimistic. The British star would come good on the streets of London, the press hoped. The Times even queried whether he would emerge as the fastest marathoner ever.

“To some it has become a mythical number, the sort of feat that seems beyond human capability, but could Mo Farah, or anyone else, really run a marathon in under two hours? One person who thinks he could is Sir Roger Bannister, and he is someone who knows what it is like to break those barriers (as the first man to run a sub-four minute mile.)”

To be fair, many journalists also acknowledged that Mo would be competing against the finest marathon runners in history and that, without doubt, the favourite was Kenya’s world marathon record holder Wilson Kipsang.

It is a mark of great champions – from Usain Bolt to David Rudisha – that they go into competition in absolutely no doubt that they will emerge victorious.

Quizzed on whether he was worried about the challenge from Mo, Kipsang was dismissive.

“I really don’t feel he is a big threat but I don’t count him out. He has been running well in 5,000 metres and 10,000 metres but in the marathon it is difficult to know if he can run well.”

On Sunday, there was only one topic on the morning radio and TV programming.

Tens of thousands of Londoners lined the streets to cheer on the scores of participants in the marathon and to roar home the famous Londoner in the race.

‘Go Mo!’ They chanted. I arrived in good time to secure a strategic position at the Tower Bridge, around the midpoint of the race, although my objective was, of course, to support the real favourites from Kenya.

LEADING PACK

After spotting the leading pack among the women, with the two Kiplagats who would eventually finish in the first two positions looking very comfortable just sitting off the pace-setters, it was time to see the men in action.

Among the first across was Haile Gebrselassie who was acting as a pacesetter, having given up serious racing although he looks still fighting fit at 41.

After the leading men passed through at an incredibly high pace, with the inevitable whoops of delight when locals saw Mo Farah a few metres behind the Kenyan pair of Kipsang and Stanley Biwott, I quickly retreated to a place that was showing the race live on TV to catch the finish.

Being far from home seems to bring an extra surge of patriotism and there was a special tinge of pride in hearing the BBC commentators describing the utter command of the Kenyans.

“The two Kiplagats (Ednah and Florence) are in terrific shape. They have wonderful pedigree and have shown it today. Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba simply doesn’t look as bouncy as we see her on track.”

There was distress at Mo’s disappointing performance. “He is getting a lot of support but he is slowing down. He will be disappointed after all the hype. But he was carrying a slight calf injury although now he must think hard whether he should abandon the marathon and concentrate on the track.”

And, of course, there was praise for the Kenyans, especially for the champion and world record holder.

“Kipsang came here talking the bigger race. But he has lived up to it. Look at him pulling away. He says, ‘Right. I’m the fastest man ever. I’m off’ and so he is. I’m thrilled for the crowds watching a great race with great athletes on show.”

* * * * * * * *

Of course, the other story of the day was First Lady Margaret Kenyatta’s remarkable achievement in finishing the 42 kilometre race at the age of 50.

Many participants in the London marathon do it for charity and the aim is to raise awareness at the same time as doing some fund raising.

Some took part wearing funny costumes, including one gentleman carrying a fridge and another pair who ran in a camel costume.

Seven British MPs took part aiming to break the record set by another MP 29 years ago.

It is safe to say that Mrs Kenyatta’s time will not be broken any time soon because running a full marathon is not something First Ladies do every day.