At the end of the first day's competition at the 2021 UK Athletics Championships,
British Athletics helped organise a special 10,000 metres race for Mo Farah, the Rio 2016
Olympic Champion, to defend his title. Mo had yet to get the necessary qualifying time of
27:28.00 and time was running out. He had finished 8th at the official Olympic trial in Birmingham
a few weeks earlier running 27:50.64, but behind fellow Brit Marc Scott who
had the qualifying time.
Friday night's race was his last chance. Olympic selections were to be made three days later.
Running in Manchester he again failed to reach the standard, winning in 27:47.00, but nineteen
slower than the required time. He is pictured above during the latter part of that race.
His personal best and European record of 26:46.57, was set ten years earlier in 2011.
He, of course, also won the 10,000m at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
He had not run a 10,000m for three years and was 38 years old. After the 2017 World Championships
he had concentrated on road races, setting a British marathon record in of 2:05.11 in 2018 and a
World Record for the one hour of 21330 in Brussels in 2020. That is 13 miles 446.77 yards.