Mo Farah smashes his own 5,000m record in his last ever indoor race at Birmingham Grand Prix
The double Olympic champion clocked 13:09.16 and will head to Ethiopia on Sunday for a training camp
Mo Farah waved an emotional farewell after smashing his own European 5,000m record as he competed indoors for the final time.
The double Olympic champion clocked 13:09.16 at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, beating his previous best European indoor mark of 13:10.60 set on the same track in 2011 - just weeks before he moved to the USA to first link up with coach Alberto Salazar.
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He flies to Ethiopia on Sunday for another block of altitude training as he warms up for the World Championships in London in August where he aims to defend his 10,000m and 5,000m titles - before retiring from the track and stepping up to the marathon event.
Farah, who threw his spikes into the crowd at the Barclaycard Arena after crossing the line, admitted: "I have to say goodbye. Everything comes to an end and this is definitely the last time you'll see me running on the boards. It's sinking in now. On Friday I realised it would be my last indoor race and I got a bit emotional at the end.
"I still can’t quite believe it is my last race but I have had a great indoor career. It is weird thinking about it and saying goodbye because I have had great support from everyone and in particular this track where I have broken so many records. It has been amazing over the years.
"I didn’t know I had broken the European record but that is good. It means a lot to sign off like that."
The 33 year-old was pushed at the end by Bahrain's Albert Rop but it was still an improvement on his seventh place at the Great Cross Country event in Edinburgh last month. Since then he has been pounding the miles in the Ethiopian mountains.
He admitted: "I didn't know he was in that kind of shape. He was sitting right behind me and I didn't know whether to stick with him or go.
"But I'm happy with the performance. It's a lot better than it was in Edinburgh. I needed to get out in the mountains, put in the miles and train harder which is what I did over the last four weeks. I tried my best in Edinburgh but it wasn't good enough. I went back home after the Rio Olympics to spend time with the family but sometimes you can't do that if you want to perform at your best."