20th November 2009

Farah's European Award

 

20 November 2009

European Athletics has announced that Mo Farah of Great Britain has been selected as the European Male Athlete of the Month for October.

Farah, a silver medallist at the 2008 SPAR European Cross Country Championships, produced a remarkable performance to clinch a thrilling win at the Great South Run in Portsmouth in October.

After trailing South African Stephen Mokoka by nearly 20 metres with less than two miles to go, the 26-year-old pulled off a remarkable sprint in the last 150 metres to pip Mokoka by the thinnest of margins to win the men’s title in 46.25 seconds.

Farah’s win also made him the first Briton to win the Great South Run since Gary Staines scored his third and final victory in 1996. The victory not only provided him the perfect boost ahead of next month’s SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Dublin but also makes him the European Athlete of the Month for October.

The European Athlete of the Month initiative was launched in January 2007 and is designed to recognise outstanding performers at all levels of the sport in Europe. 

European Athletics names a male and female winner each month and features the athlete on the European Athletics website. Selections are based on votes by the public, the media and a panel of European Athletics experts, with each counting for 33.3 percent of the final vote.