Sir Mo Farah’s coach Gary Lough insists the four-time gold medallist is not past his sell-by date and there’s ‘NO way’ he’ll retire after Olympic disappointment – as he claims he was in shape to win a MEDAL in Tokyo despite failing to even qualify!
Sir Mo Farah’s coach Gary Lough insists there is ‘no way’ Friday’s failed Tokyo qualifier will be the four-time Olympic champion’s final race – and claims the Brit was in shape to win a medal at the Games.
Farah is weighing up his future after falling 19 seconds short of the 10,000m Olympic qualifying standard in front of barely 1,000 fans at the Manchester Regional Arena.
While his days as a championship runner are almost certainly over, Lough was borderline incredulous at the idea the 38-year-old might retire immediately from the sport.
Sir Mo Farah’s Olympic dream is over after he failed to qualify for the Tokyo Games on Friday
He said: ‘There’s no way Mohamed Farah is going to end his career running around the track here. Do you think that was fitting of his last race?’
The frustration within the Farah camp has been significant after he shockingly failed with his two attempts to hit the 27min28sec qualification mark. His first crack in Birmingham on June 5 was scuppered by an ankle ‘niggle’ and his sluggish run in Manchester has been attributed partially to the cold conditions.
Lough believes Farah’s training form not only indicated he would make it to Japan but also be a serious contender.
He said: ‘The most devastating thing is that he’s in shape and he can do this. He struggles in conditions like this but we don’t want to make excuses.
The four-time gold medallist finished 19 seconds off the 10,000m Olympic qualifying standard
‘It wasn’t one of those past-your-sell-by dates, those “you can’t do this anymore” things. It really, really is not that situation.’
Despite Lough indicating Farah will race again, with the smart money on farewell in a lucrative British-based road race, he ruled out a track tilt at next year’s world championships.
‘In terms of what’s next, I honestly don’t know,’ he said. ‘There wasn’t really a Plan B – this was kind of a plan B after Birmingham, and there’s definitely not a plan C right at this minute.
‘I don’t think that (the worlds) is in the equation.’
Farah, meanwhile, is adamant his decision to take part in I’m a Celebrity late last year did not impact on his performance. Farah said: ‘Since then I’ve had some good training camps. Training has gone well. The little niggle three weeks ago got sorted. I’ve had a good 10 days, 12 days, training camp. So no.’
Farah’s coach Gary Lough (left) insists he is not past his best and will not be quitting the sport