Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah’s track career ended with a thrilling win in a sprawling four-man finish to the 5,000 meters at the Weltklasse Diamond League meeting on Thursday.
Farah avenged his world championships loss by Muktar Edris, who fell over the finish line as just 0.13 seconds separated the first four men. They also shared the top-four places in London two weeks ago.
Britain’s Farah doggedly held his lead to clock 13 minutes 6.05 seconds, 0.04 ahead of Paul Chelimo of the United States and Edris. Chelimo’s disqualification for pushing Farah and Edris across the line was announced more than one hour later.
Edris was already stumbling when nudged from his left side, forcing him to bring down his Ethiopia teammate Yomif Kejelcha who was upgraded to third from fourth.
“Oh man, I had to fight the last 200 meters there. I managed to hold them,” Farah said in a television interview. The 34-year-old runner will switch to road races.
Farah was joined after his race by high jump world champion Mutaz Essa Barshim to kneel in prayer on the track. They then hugged.
Earlier, Qatar’s Barshim won his event clearing 2.36 meters, one centimeter above his gold-medal height in London.
The outstanding time of the meet was run by an Olympic champion who placed only fifth at the world championships.
Ruth Jebet, the Kenyan-born 20-year-old runner who represents Bahrain, clocked the second fastest time ever in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase.
Jebet’s 8 minutes, 55.29 seconds was less than three seconds outside the record she set a year ago in Paris. World champion Emma Coburn of the U.S. was fourth.
Isaac Makwala was denied a chance to run his favored 400 event in London by illness, but the Botswana runner showed what track fans missed by clocking a 43.95 winning time on Thursday that was 0.03 faster than Wayde van Niekerk’s gold-medal performance. Makwala then dropped to the track to do some pushups.
Two world champion sprinters were beaten into fourth place on a cool 18-degree (64-Fahrenheit) evening.
Justin Gatlin of the U.S. was never in contention in the 100, clocking 10.04. Britain’s Chijindu Ujah won in his season’s best of 9.97.
Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands faded into fourth in the 200 watching worlds bronze medalist Shaunae Miller-Uibo race to a Bahamas national record of 21.88. Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica was second in 22.00.
World champion Caster Semenya timed 1-55.84 in an easy women’s 800 victory, and fellow South African gold medalist Luvo Manyonga won the men’s long jump.
Other world champions winning were Sally Pearson of Australia in the 110 hurdles and Sam Kendricks of the U.S. in pole vault.
The men’s 400 hurdles world champion Karsten Warholm of Norway ran a personal record of 48.22 yet was beaten by the 48.07 from Kyron McMaster, the University of Florida student from the British Virgin Islands.
