Mo Farah has confirmed that he will not compete at this year’s world championships in Doha having appeared to end his lengthy flirtation with a return to the track. Instead he will defend his Chicago marathon title on 13 October..
The decision is bound to be controversial given Farah is still in receipt of lottery funding, even though he hasn’t competed for Britain since 2017.
In an Instagram post, the 36-year-old wrote: “Having discussed with my team and to ensure I have the best possible chance of achieving this goal, my focus for 2019 will solely be on the roads.”
Farah, who ran 2hr 05min 39sec in finishing fifth at the London Marathon last month, had hinted for months that he was considering returning to the track for the first time since 2017 to defend his world championship title over 10,000m on 6 October, fuelling speculation that he would do that and then attempt the New York Marathon in November.
However, a frustrating showing at the London Marathon seems to have altered his plans and he will instead return to Chicago to face his former Nike Oregon Project teammate and best friend Galen Rupp.
“Winning the Chicago Marathon last year was very special for me,” said Farah, who ran 2hr 05min 11sec in the race in 2018 to break the European record over 26.2 miles and record his first marathon victory.
“It was my first time to win a world marathon major and my time was a European and British record. I am looking forward to returning in 2019 to defend my title on the streets of Chicago. It is a fast course with good organisation. I expect they will recruit a strong field to make it a great race.”
The Chicago Marathon’s executive race director, Carey Pinkowski, said he was delighted that Farah had decided to return. “Mo is an Olympic champion and he put on quite a show here last year, and we are excited that Galen has chosen the Chicago marathon as his comeback race. I’m confident we are going to see great races up front on 13 October.”
In March Farah had admitted that he yearned to compete in a GB vest again. “I do miss the track, I do miss representing my country, and competing on home soil,” he said. “Part of me, when I watch track races, I’m like: ‘Can I still do it? I want to do it.’”