LONDON — Great Britain claimed three gold medals on an historic night in the Olympic Stadium on Saturday as Mo Farah became the first Briton to win an Olympic long–distance title.
On the greatest night in the history of British athletics, Farah capped a memorable hour in which Jessica Ennis had been crowned heptathlon champion and Greg Rutherford had claimed a shock gold medal in the long jump.
Farah sprinted clear to claim victory in a time of 27:30.42 to finish ahead of training partner Galen Rupp, while defending champion Kenenisa Bekele could only manage fourth behind his younger brother Tariku.
The world 5 000m champion atoned for his defeat in last year’s 10 000m World Championship final when he was beaten in a sprint finish by Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan.
Roared on by a fiercely patriotic home crowd, Farah survived a physical race as his rivals jostled for position and he did not panic as he fell off the pace in the early stages.
With 12 runners still in contention with two laps remaining, Farah made his move just before the bell and never relinquished his lead as he held his nerve to claim an historic victory.
