16 Mar 2014

Mo Farah collapses at end of New York half marathon

Olympic champion Mo Farah collapses as he finishes second in the New York half marathon and is taken away in a wheelchair.

The double Olympic gold winner appeared to momentarily lose consciousness, and had fallen heavily around six miles into the race.

Farah finished behind Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya but managed to fend off a challenge Stephen Sambu to hold on to second place but not without cost.

He said: “I feel good. I just tried so hard in the race. It’s not a big deal.

“When I fell, I fell pretty hard. I told myself “don’t rush” but when I saw the gap, the gap was big.

“Conditions here today were very cold. London won’t be as cold as this.

“It would have been nice to win today, but he (Mutai) is a good athlete. Nothing changes for London – I will just keep training.”

Farah’s team blamed the incident on the difference in climate between a cold New York and a hot Kenya where he has been conducting high-altitude training.

He finished the race in a time of 61 minutes and eight seconds.

The half marathon is a stepping stone in Farah’s aim to compete in his first competitive marathon in London on April 13.