Double Olympic champion Mo Farah says Usain Bolt is only man who can do it in threes
MO FARAH believes there is only one man who can do it in threes — Usain Bolt.
On Saturday, the British star became only the second man — after Lasse Viren in 1976 — to retain two Olympic distance titles.
His pal Bolt — who he posed with for a selfie before he added the 5,000m title to his 10,000m gold — had achieved the triple-triple 24 hours earlier.
Bolt also became the first man to win the 100m and 200m at three straight Games.
But Farah, 33, believes that Tokyo 2020 will be too much for him as he weighs up his age, the toll on his body and the further sacrifices he will have to make in missing out on family life with wife Tanya and his four children.
The teenager who stuck a newspaper picture on his bedroom wall in Hounslow of Haile Gebrselaassie beating Paul Tergat to 10,000m gold at Sydney 2000 by the width of his vest has now surpassed all their efforts on the track.
Even in Brazil they know his name, with Rio cab drivers beaming in recognition at the mention of Mo.
Farah, like Bolt, will race on the track at next summer’s World Championships in London — where he will defend his two titles.
After that he plans a step back up to marathon running, having struggled over the distance in London in 2014.
He may even do an outing over the 26.2-mile event late next year with New York on the cards.
That still leaves the option of targeting the Olympic marathon in Tokyo.
Farah said: “Only Bolt can do the triple-triple or double up three times.
“He’s the man and gave me a hug before the final.”
But veteran distance star Bernard Lagat — who finished fifth in the 5,000m at the age of 41 - told him on Saturday to carry on with the track in Tokyo when Farah will be 37.
Farah said: “He said to me I should carry on but it is what’s inside.
“You’ve got to set goals and stay hungry and when you lose that moment, it’s done. But I’m still hungry.
“When I line up, I’m in the tunnel. I close out everything.
“All you can see is ahead and not beyond.
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“That’s what drives me and why I’ve become successful and win medals.
“I’m still in that tunnel and want to continue. But at times it’s hard and the light turns off as you miss your family, you miss your kids.
“That’s the only one thing that really gets me down or makes me think twice about what I do.”
Farah, grabbing the two gold medals hanging around his neck, added: “At the moment it’s all worth it.
“You can’t replace these . . .you have to make the most of the opportunity, which is what I’ve done. I want to continue to 2017 on the track and then go on to the road.
“I won’t be away from my family as much.
“I need to practise and run a couple of key marathons in terms of becoming successful but for sure next year, you will see me on the track.
“I’d like to be able to even do a marathon next year after the World Championships.
“We’ll see how it goes. When I did the London Marathon I felt I went straight in at the deep end and to be honest I struggled.”
Farah, who last night flew to his home in Portland, Oregon with wife Tanya and eldest daughter Rihanna to be re-united with his twin daughters and son who he had not seen for almost two months, did not even make the final at Beijing 2008.
It proved a turning point — forcing him to change his lifestyle and then uproot his family to the USA in 2011 to work with coach Alberto Salazar at the Nike Oregon Project.
His American training partner Galen Rupp won bronze in the marathon yesterday with Matthew Centrowitz - another member of the group — winning the 1500m title.
Farah reflected: “I’ve come a long way. After I didn’t make the final in Beijing I remember thinking ‘what do I do with myself’.
“That’s probably the most down I’ve ever been. I knew I had to change something.
“So to come back to win in London and now this. The double-double. It’s crazy.
“I used to dream of becoming Olympic champion ONCE but then to do it twice is pretty amazing.
“I remember watching Haile Gebrselassie and Paul Tergat in Sydney and wondering if I could become Olympic champion. I was still at school.
“I had a poster in my room of that moment printed in one of the papers and had it on my wall and thinking ‘I want to be Olympic champion’.”
As for the debate about whether he is Britain’s greatest sportsman, Farah said: “Me? I’m just proud of what I’ve achieved over the years.
“It’s been a long journey, especially over the last four years when London 2012 changed who I am in terms of being even able to go out in the street.
“But one thing that really drives me is the fact I enjoy what I do and you can’t take that away from me.
“I enjoy having pain and putting the miles in and continuing to work hard and to keep going. That’s who I am.
“In my career I want to continue winning medals and making my nation proud. That’s what I do.”