LONDON – It takes something to upstage Usain Bolt in an Olympic Stadium. Then again, there is only one long-distance runner quite like Mo Farah.
The British great came out onto the track Friday after Bolt, a three-time world champion, had absorbed the adulation of the crowd just by showing up and coasting to victory in his opening 100-meter heat in 10.07 seconds.
Farah still had one of the toughest races of his life coming up — an all-out assault by the best African runners to wear him down to sap his finishing speed.
"I am mentally strong," said the 34-year-old Farah, who was born in Somalia but moved to Britain as a child.
A 300-meter final kick still left him with time to cross the finish line with arms outstretched and the same amazement in his eyes he had when winning his first Olympic gold in the same stadium five years ago.
"It was about believing in my sprint finish and knowing that I have been in that position before," Farah said.
For a half-decade now, competitors know a tactical race only leads to a winning Farah sprint. So this time the best of Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia set a punishing pace from the start to shake the pack — but not Farah's concentration.
"It wasn't about Mo, it was about, 'How do we beat Mo?' " Farah said.
