Historic Double-Double for St Mary's Alumnus Mo Farah

Alumnus of St Mary’s University, Twickenham Mo Farah has achieved a record breaking double-double of distance Olympic Gold Medals after winning the Men’s 5000m race at Rio 2016 on Sunday 21^st August. Mo is now the first British athlete to not only retain a long distance Olympic title, but is also the first to achieve both the 5000m and 10,000m Men’s Olympic titles in consecutive games. He secured the 5000m Gold after a strong race in a time of 13:03.30, half a second ahead of Silver and a second of Bronze. His 10,000m race on Sunday 14^th was more dramatic as he tripped with laps to go. Mo recovered and went on to secure victory with a sprint finish in a time of 27:05.17. Director of Sport Andrew Reid-Smith said, “Mo was the first St Mary's Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre athlete when the partnership with the London Marathon and British Athletics started in 2001, and his incredible performances have seen him become one of the greatest distance runners ever. “His win in the 5000m means he has repeated the long-distance double he achieved at the London Olympics and in doing so, he has surpassed the great Kenenisa Bekele to become a nine-time global champion, including Olympics and World Championships. Mo works terrifically hard to win in such style, he is a great role model and everyone at St Mary's is very proud of him.” St Mary’s has a proud history of Olympic and Paralympic success. As part of St Mary’s contribution to the London Games the University supported athletes from ten different nations and provided Pre Games Training Camps for China, South Africa, Japan and Ireland. Based on London 2012 medals won St Mary’s finished sixth, the highest placed London institution, in Podium’s league table for universities. Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and President of the IAAF, opened St Mary’s latest sports facilities. International athletes competing at the Games used these facilities, which continue to provide a sporting legacy for students, staff and local community alike.