Mo beaten by retail assistant in 1st post Olympic flop race

Sir Mo Farah suffered a shock defeat to club runner Ellis Cross in his return to competitive action at the Vitality London 10,000.

Great Britain legend Farah, 39, was racing for the first time since his failure to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in June when he was beaten by the 25-year-old. Cross ran in the vest of Aldershot, Farnham & District Athletic Club as he finished four seconds quicker than the four-time Olympic gold medallist

Farah finished in 28 minutes and 44 seconds, a whole minute outside his best time on the road. Speaking after the race, the long-distance icon was non-committal about his future and whether he will target July’s world championships in Eugene.

Farah told the BBC: “Today was a tough day. Ellis did really well to win here. But you’ve got to see where you are. At the minute I don’t even know. You’ve got to take it race by race and let the body see what it can do. I’m not getting any younger, am I?

“I did put some good blocks of training together but it’s been so, so long – nine months since my last race. I love the sport and I love what I do. I’ve had a long career but there’s a lot of youngsters who are coming through, which is nice to see.”

Cross was not part of the official elite field and had to pay his own £37 entry fee to take park. A retail assistant by day, he wore a bib with the number 219 rather than his name.

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The shock defeat left Farah’s dream of taking part in any of this summer’s World Championships, Commonwealth Games or European Championships in tatters. But unknown hero Cross was jubilant after outsprinting the track legend.

Cross said: “I’m lost for words I did not expect this in a million years. Honestly, I know it’s a cliché, but I couldn’t believe it.