Great Britain’s long distance runner Mo Farah has played down suggestions he could break the two-hour barrier for a marathon race.
The Somali-born athlete, who’s “proud” of competing for Team Great Britain, is targeting next year’s London marathon as he seeks a fresh challenge.
In an interview with BBCNewsbeat, the double Olympics and World champion (10,000m and 5,000m) said it would be “ridiculous” for him to believe he could finish the 26.2 miles route in under two hours, but says he only plans to challenge the British record.
“For me to say I can run under two hours is ridiculous,” the 30-year-old Arsenal fan told Newsbeat.
“My goals are to run the London Marathon and do the best that I can.
Farah favours taking on a much lighter feat by beating Welsh athlete Steve Jones’ time of two hours seven minutes 13 seconds set in 1985 in Chicago and he added: “I’ve got to do that before anything else.”
Farah, always has been a Gunners supporter, and sharing the same view with Jack Wilshere, who last week said only English People should play for England, was more like yes ‘he aired my feelings’ but not without exonerating his own status as a naturalised Brit.
The Englishman’s statement followed a debate around Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj, who could play for England from 2018 under Fifa’s five-year residency requirement as he has yet to commit to another country.
The 18-year-old Brussels born is eligible for Belgium, Serbia, Albania and Turkey.
When asked about the subject, Farah said: “I think in my situation, it is completely different because I grew up in Britain and done everything here.
“When I run for my country, I’m proud to run for my country.”
Farah added he hates when other athletes switch allegiance to compete for other nations.
“There’s Kenyan guys who last year or two years ago were running for Kenya and they switched to Qatar and Bahrain and other countries,” he said.
“Yes I do have a problem with that.”
