12 June

Britain’s greatest ever male distance runner and world 5,000m Champion, Mo Farah (Alberto Salazar), will compete over 1500m at the Aviva 2012 Trials on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 June at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium.

Farah, who is aiming to do the 5,000m and 10,000m double at the Olympic Games this summer, will race in the shorter distance at the Aviva 2012 Trials as a means of putting his speed and finishing ability to the test against metric mile specialists. Selecting the 1500m event also means that Farah will race in a heat and a final on consecutive days.

The 29-year-old is looking forward to the opportunity to pit himself against the country’s best over the shorter distance, as preparations for his first Olympic Games continue.

He said: “Running the 1500m at the Aviva 2012 Trials is a great chance for me to work on my speed and tactics in a championship format, over two days. At the Olympics I’ll need to recover as quickly as possible between races, so running two races back to back will be good preparation.”

However Farah, who won his opening four outdoor races in 2012 and is Britain’s fastest man over 1500m this year, with a time of 3:34.66, is not expecting a straightforward road to victory at the Aviva 2012 Trials.

Farah finished second to Tom Lancashire (Norman Poole) in the 1500m at the Aviva Trials four years ago and this year will face some tough competition from Ross Murray (Craig Winrow), who PB’d in Hengelo two weeks ago with 3:34.76.

“The great thing about these Trials is that there are Olympic places at stake with every athlete competing for London 2012 qualification. Everyone will be fighting to finish in the top two. I’m expecting a really strong battle with the 1500m specialists.”

UK Athletics Head of Endurance, Ian Stewart fully endorses Farah’s decision to compete in the 1500m in Birmingham and agrees that it is the right race for Britain’s greatest ever male distance runner in the run-up to London.

“Mo has demonstrated time and time again that he is one of the best distance runners in the world. I agree with Mo that running the shorter race at the Aviva 2012 Trials is the right move for him at this stage of his preparations for the summer. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do at the Trials.”

The men’s 1500m heats and final are scheduled for Friday 22 and Saturday 23 June.

Back the team and watch over 750 of Britain’s best athletes in action at the Aviva 2012 Trials at the Birmingham Alexander Stadium from 22-24 June. For tickets visit www.uka.org.uk/aviva-series or call 08000 55 60 56.