Mo Farah ends track career with Zurich 5,000m win, Gatlin slumps

The 34-year-old Farah, also a six-time world champion who will now switch to road running, clocked 13min 06.05sec to defeat Paul Chelimo of the United States and Muktar Edris of Ethiopia.

Published : Aug 25, 2017 01:52 IST , Zurich

Mo Farah celebrates with his signature celebration after winning his final track race of his career at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
Mo Farah celebrates with his signature celebration after winning his final track race of his career at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
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Mo Farah celebrates with his signature celebration after winning his final track race of his career at the Diamond League final in Zurich.

Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah ended his track career in thrilling fashion on Thursday with victory in the 5,000m at the Diamond League final in Zurich while world 100m champion Justin Gatlin slumped to defeat.

The 34-year-old Farah, also a six-time world champion who will now switch to road running, clocked 13min 06.05sec to defeat Paul Chelimo of the United States and Muktar Edris of Ethiopia.

Victory was particularly sweet as Edris had defeated him in the 5,000m final at the world championships in London two weeks ago, ending his streak of 10 gold medals dating back to the 2011 world championships.

It was also Farah's first career Diamond League trophy.

"I wanted to win, and it's amazing that I have won, but it was hard work," said Farah. "I will miss the track, the people, my fans. I have enjoyed running in stadiums for a lot of years, but now first of all I will enjoy being with my family."

While Farah took the applause of the Zurich crowd, it proved a night to forget for controversial American sprinter Gatlin who captured the world 100m title in London.

Gatlin, who served a four-year doping ban from 2006-2010, wasn't jeeered as he was in London, where he gate-crashed Usain Bolt's farewell party, but was beaten into fourth place in 10.04sec with Britain's Chijindu Ujah taking victory in 9.97sec.

Ujah, part of Britain's 4x100m relay title-winning squad at the world championships, finished ahead of Ivory Coast's Ben Youssef Meite (9.97sec) with Ronnie Baker of the US completing the podium (10.01sec).

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