Olympics 2012: Relaxed Farah disturbs African hegemony

At the end of the greatest night of his career only one man could stop Mo Farah. The Londoner may have seen off the cream of world distance running, but that wasn't enough for a stadium official when the new Olympic 10,000m champion and silver medallist Galen Rupp emerged long after midnight for their warm down.

Farah may have made the track his own on Saturday night but the official would not let the training partners complete a final lap of honour. Like everything else the world threw at them on Saturday night the pair took it in their stride, taking to the infield to run the last of their monumental effort from their legs.

The Londoner was as relaxed about the incident as he had been throughout a remarkable evening. He was happy to whoop up the crowd before the race began, a sure sign of confidence, and Galen revealed afterwards that it never wavered.

"He tapped me on the shoulder in the middle of the race and said: 'Relax mate, we can do this,'" said Galen.

Farah's certainty was well-founded, though he admitted to one flat spot mid-race as the Eritrean and Ethiopian teams tried to stretch the man they feared most.

Whatever those attacks took out of Farah, years of dedication focused on delivering the perfect performance on August 4, 2012, much of it in the company of Galen, rendered them ineffective.

Together, under the guidance of coach Alberto Salazar, Galen and Farah have disturbed the African hegemony of long-distance events. It has earned Farah respect, evident in the queues of African journalists wanting their picture taken with him on Saturday night.

But he credited his experiences training in the continent of his birth, running hundreds of miles a week in a strict routine, with opening his eyes to what it takes to win.

"I have learned so much from the Africans," he said. "I got a chance to live and train with them when I finished university and it made me wake up to what was needed if I wanted to get to their level."

After winning the 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the 2010 European Championships, Farah moved to Oregon last year to train with Salazar and Rupp. It paid dividends when he won the 5,000m world title last year, along with the 10,000m silver. Determined not to be disappointed in London, Farah redoubled his efforts, attempting to avoid the limelight shone on British hopefuls.

While Jessica Ennis embraced the attention in the build up to the Games, Farah preferred to stay away, first in Oregon and then at the British athletics holding camp in Portugal.

"The pressure is one of those things that you have to try and forget about," he said. "You just have to think about yourself and how hard you have worked. You try to lock yourself away and not be aware of what is going on, but when you walk into that stadium it just hits you."

Isolation has come at a price, taking him away from wife Tania, pregnant with twins, and daughter Rhianna, for long periods, but being reunited after a golden hour for British athletics was the pinnacle his career. "Seeing my family on the track afterwards was the greatest moment of my life," he said.

Farah's road from an interrupted childhood in Somalia to victory in London is one of the Games' great stories. After what he achieved on Saturday night he deserves the freedom of the city, let alone the track.