Mighty Mo takes Euro cross country title

lying the flag: Britain's Mo Farah on the podium after victory in Italy
14 April 2012

Too late to be a contender for BBC Sports Personality but no doubt now that Mo Farah is Britain's rightful athlete of the year.

With candidates thin on the ground in a bad year for the premier Olympic sport, Farah received the annual accolade in October without having won a single significant race.

Yesterday, in this small town near Milan, he filled that gap in his year's CV in spectacular manner when he became the first Briton in 10 years to win the senior men's race at the European cross country championships.

It ended a long run of second places since he was European junior 5000 metres champion that threatened to condemn him as just another contender. A silver medal in the summer over 5000 metres at the European championships was his sixth finish one place short of gold in international championships.

Yesterday though he stamped his authority on his elders, following his personal coach Alan Storey's plan to the letter by allowing others to exhaust themselves in the lead on the soft grass for the first four of the five 1920 metre laps. "Once he got clear, I knew the race was won," said Storey.

The clock recorded a margin of victory of seven seconds over Portugal's Fernando Silva but so comfortable was Farah that he was waving gaily to the crowd in the final 200 metres after leading for all but a few metres of the final circuit.

Further behind were the best in Europe, among them Spaniard Jual Carlos de la Ossa, Europe's fastest this year over 10,000 metres, in third and Ukrainian Sergiy Lebid, champion for five straight years, a full 30 seconds back in 12th.

"I've worked hard for this. I went out to South Africa for a month's preparation and then out-sprinting a Kenyan in a race in France two weeks ago gave me all the confidence I needed. It's been a good year now," he said.

If cross country is the foundation of track success for endurance runners, as past great Britons from Brendan Foster to Sebastian Coe are always proclaiming, bring on the 2012 Olympics. Britain is headed in the right direction with a precocious bunch of talent.

On a gloriously sunny day Britain's national anthem rang out on three occasions before it was Farah's turn, and each time it acclaimed those who will be in their prime in 2012.

Farah who was born in Somalia, lived as a child in Djibouti and grew up in West London, is just 23. Not one man who finished in the first 20 behind him in yesterday's men's race was as young.

Steph Twell, from Farnborough, the daughter of an Army major who opened Britain's gold account when she won the women's under-20 championship, is only 17, still qualified to run for this junior title when the world championships come to Edinburgh in 2008.

So is Emily Pidgeon, who was fourthl, and hardly any older are Sian Edwards (6th) and Abby Westly (10th), who made up the team of four whose placings earned Britain the team gold medal.

Each had painted their nails red, white and blue and received emails of good wishes from Paula Radcliffe but it was the badge Twell wore on her running vest, a London 2012 pin, that spoke most eloquently of their shared ambitions.. "It's the goal, the dream, something I never stop thinking about," said Twell.

Or even dreaming of. Her father, Andy, who had flown from his base in Cyprus to support her, revealed that when you goes to bed she transfers the pin to her pyjamas!

For good measure, some more British youngsters, Aine Hoban (22), Laura Kenney (21), Claire Holme (21) and Faye Fullerton (22) won the team gold in the women's under-23 championships.

There might even have been a fifth gold for the more stalwart senior women's team of Hayley Yelling, Jo Pavey, Liz Yelling and Kate Reed. They finished equal on 47 points with Portugal but Britain had to be content with silver because Portugal's fourth runner finished a place ahead of Reed.

As Storey, who not only coaches Farah but heads UK Athletic's endurance division, said as he headed for the VIP tent: "I think I've earned a small red wine to celebrate."

He probably toasted a very good British vintage.

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