Mo Farah hits back with World Championships gold

Mo Farah put a summer of speculation behind him to make it half a dozen global titles as he again proved unbeatable over 10,000 metres at the World Championships in Beijing.

Farah was ruthlessly focused amid all the off-track distractions as he burst away from the twin Kenyan challenge of Geoffrey Kipsang Kamworor and Paul Tanui down the home straight.

The 32-year-old has endured a tumultuous year, caught up in the doping allegations surrounding his coach Alberto Salazaar, but has not lost his aura of invincibility on it as he came home in 27 minutes 01.13 seconds.

The double Olympic champion, back at the Bird’s Nest stadium, the scene of the biggest disappointment of his career when he failed to make the final of the 2008 Olympics, has now not lost at an Olympics or World Championships since 2011.

Farah was in a pack of five well clear of the field for most of the race, also including American Galen Rupp, his training partner at the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, and, ominously, three Kenyan team-mates.

Farah kicked to the front with a lap to go and, although the Kenyans tried to respond, they simply could not match his finishing speed as the Briton came home with more than half a second to spare.

The double Olympic champion has admitted his name has been dragged through the mud over his links to Salazar, although he himself has been accused of no wrongdoing and his coach has denied the allegations against him, and this win was the ideal way to answer his critics.

“I want to keep doing what I’m doing and serve my country and win as many medals as I can,” Farah told the BBC.

“I want to be remembered as someone who did something for their country.

“It’s been good to have so many people behind me on Instagram and Twitter, sending me messages.

“It’s a great atmosphere. It’s important I started the team well. I’m one of the oldest. So hopefully people look at that and say ‘I can do it’.”