28 May 2009

Mo Farah has announced he will race over 1500m at the Aviva World Trials, which takes place on 10, 11 and 12 July at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium. And the 26-year-old believes he’s got what it takes to secure his place in the Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team set to compete at the World Championships in Berlin the following month.

The London-based athlete looks set to enjoy a fulfilling summer on the track after a superb win over 10km on Monday, where he also smashed the 25-year-old British road record over that distance, clocking 27 minutes 50 seconds.

Farah said: “I didn’t realise I’d broken the British record on Monday in the 10km road race, so that was an added bonus. Now I want to go on and see what else I can manage.”

Somalia-born Farah is likely to face some stiff competition in Birmingham against middle distance specialists such as Andy Baddeley and Tom Lancashire. Last year Farah finished second behind Lancashire over the same distance, but now, after a successful indoor season which included victory over 1500m at the Aviva European Trials & UK Championships in Sheffield, Farah believes he can take the title.

He said: “A win in the 1500m at the Trials in Birmingham would be nice – I finished second there last year so I want to go one better but the competition over 1500m will be tough with Andy and Tom.

“The World Championships are very important to me this summer, so obviously I am concentrating on that, but every race in the build up to Berlin is important, to prove I am in great shape to me and everyone around me.”

Farah finished sixth in the 5000m at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, but now, two years on, he has matured into a force to be reckoned with. Earlier this year he claimed gold over 3,000m at the European Indoor Championships in Turin, Italy, to add to wins at the Aviva Grand Prix over 3000m at the Birmingham NIA, and the UK crown over 1500m in Sheffield.

Victory on Monday followed a successful few weeks spent training at altitude in France – earlier in the year the Newham & Essex Beagle spent some time in Kenya training alongside many of the country’s top long distance athletes. Now, as the summer season of athletics gets underway, it’s clear Farah’s dedication and determination is paying off.

Farah said: “I’ve had a really good build up to the outdoor season, I went to altitude at Font Romeu, France to train with Nick McCormick, Moses Kipsiro and Boniface Kiprop at the UKA Endurance camp and I think that has really helped me.

“I benefited a lot over the winter when I was out in Kenya training, so I wanted to give myself another strong start to the season. It would be great to continue the success I had at the beginning of the year, and I believe I’m in the sort of form where that will be possible.”