Sir Mo Farah insists he is solely focused on final race at Great North Run

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Sir Mo Farah insists his focus is fully on preparations for his final competition at the Great North Run on Sunday.

The 40-year-old four-time Olympic champion is bringing his career to a close at the North East half-marathon after announcing that 2023 would be his final year competing.

Farah’s goodbye to the sport has seen him compete in the Great Manchester Run 10K and the London Marathon earlier this year.

His penultimate race came at the Big Half in London last weekend, but although his career is creeping to a close, Farah admits he will take stock and “fully enjoy” his achievements once Sunday is complete.

He told PA news agency: “When I finished in London it was like, ‘this is it London, bye bye’ and I went home, thinking in two days, three days the Great North Run is going to be my final, final one.

“I arrived (on Thursday night) and just doing bits of the interviews, talking to people saying ‘this is your last, this is your last’ and you actually try to think ‘this is it!’.

“It does hit you, but the Great North Run is an incredible event and what they’ve done over the years is amazing.

“When I spoke to Brendan (Foster) to say I want to end my career at your race he was like ‘OK bring it on!’ and that’s what we did.

“Seeing people be happy and people coming up to you saying thank you over the years and people saying ‘one last time, one last moment’, it starts to hit on you.

“But I just have to put that to the back of my mind and just focus on the race, and after the race save it forever, fully enjoy it and take that all in.”

Farah is a six-time winner of the Great North Run, with his last victory coming in 2019 on the Tyneside streets.

After four Olympic golds and six World Championship titles, Farah is looking forward to having a break and hopes to find a role that can suit him post-running.

“I think I’ll have a couple of weeks relax, chill out and spend time with the kids and family then start to think what else can I do,” he added.

“I love to be involved in sports and giving back to younger kids, the community, but you’ve got to find that role that you can enjoy and go in with a big smile.”