While Farah was almost certain to try and defend his Olympic 10,000-meters title in Rio, the marathon, so Salazar thought, might make more sense as a second race. In running, the advantage of raw foot speed is, generally speaking, inversely proportional to the distance of the race, and speed typically decreases with age. Noting that Farah will be 33-years-old in the summer of 2016, Salazar said that going up in distance could be a savvy tactical move. After all, Salazar – who denies the claims – was the man who turned him into a world-beater, while simultaneously propelling Rupp onto his heels.A few months after Mo Farah won Olympic gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters at the 2012 Games, his coach, Alberto Salazar, suggested that Great Britain’s star runner might attempt an even more ambitious feat in Rio 2016.”My guess is that he will do a 10/marathon double,” Salazar told the BBC in October 2012. Stood together on the Chicago Marathon startline, it will be more than six years since the pair embraced after memorably ending Africa’s recent monopoly of Olympic 10,000m medals with an Alberto Salazar-trained one-two at London 2012 – half-a-dozen years during which their lives have changed irrevocably.įarah, now a four-time Olympic champion, left Salazar’s Nike Oregon Project last year after calling time on his track career and lives in London, working under the tutelage of Gary Lough, Paula Radcliffe’s husband and coach.įarah always insisted the move had nothing to do with the ongoing doping investigation into Salazar’s practices and maintains he has no regrets over his initial decision to stick with the controversial American coach after allegations first surfaced. But when asked whether his former training partner is a friend or rival, it is telling that Farah does not miss a beat when replying: “Rivals, for sure.” Where once Mo Farah and Galen Rupp would work out and hang out together in equal measure, now their fleeting encounters are restricted to hotel lobbies or – for the first time in more than two years in Chicago on Sunday morning – on the startline.īoth parties insist it is just the way of the world a natural parting of ways that comes with changing circumstances.
The respect remains, but the camaraderie so evident in the past is long gone.
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