Mo Farah claims first marathon win in Chicago setting European record time

A different surface and a longer distance, but this was exactly the type of dominant performance Mo Farah has become synonymous with over the past decade.

With this first marathon win of his career, there can now be no doubting whether Farah is capable of translating his track success into becoming one of the best road runners in the world.

Standing on the startline for this Chicago Marathon on Sunday morning, his personal best placed him just eighth in the elite field. But when it came to the nitty gritty of the race itself, he did what he always does: start steady, assert himself late on and sprint clear at the business end.

His winning time of two hours, five minutes and 11 seconds was a huge new European record and any lingering concerns over whether the four-time Olympic track champion could cut it on the roads were banished.

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With his sights firmly set on the 2019 World Championships and 2020 Olympics, his medal-winning days in a British vest do not look over yet.

It had not always seemed as though the race would pass so serenely. In grizzly, blustering, rain-soaked conditions, Farah looked to have fallen off the lead pack at around the 19-mile mark as he slipped into ninth place, well down on the east African contingent showing the way at the front.

No sooner had he reasserted himself a couple of miles later than he appeared to trip over a water bottle at a drinks station, causing a temporary limp and worrying look of anguish on his face that soon disappeared when he realised the damage was not significant.

From there on in, victory was only a matter of time. Ethiopia’s Mosinet Geremew – the fastest man in the field with a person best of 2hr 4min – was the only person capable of sticking with him, but when Farah surged in the final few hundred metres, the race was over.

He crossed the line 13 seconds ahead of Geremew, with Farah’s former Nike Oregon Project training partner Galen Rupp down in fifth.

The fastest man Europe has ever produced over 1500m is now also the fastest man Europe has ever produced over 26.2 miles. That is some range.