BIRMINGHAM. — Mo Farah brought down the curtain on his peerless track career in Britain by winning his farewell race on home soil on an emotional afternoon at the Birmingham Grand Prix Diamond League meeting on Sunday. In his penultimate track race — his final run will be at the Zurich Weltklasse meeting on Thursday — before becoming a marathon man on the roads next season, the quadruple Olympic champion outclassed a 3 000 metres field with familiar elan.

The weekend after winning 5 000 metres silver and a fortnight since his 10 000 metres triumph at the World Championships in London, the 34-year-old was presented with a more accommodating field for his domestic goodbye.

The crowd at the Alexander Stadium gave Britain’s greatest racer — perhaps the best the world has seen too after 10 global title wins — a rapturous reception before watching him sprint away one last time down the home straight as he won in 7 minutes 38.64 seconds.

Farah, who clocked 56.89 seconds over the last lap to ease away from Spain’s runner-up, Adel Mechaal, the fourth-placed finisher in the world 1500 metres final, told the BBC: “It means everything to me.

“The emotion was high and I had a lot of support from the home crowd. This is what we dream of — having a home crowd cheer you on — and I want to thank everyone who has supported me and followed my journey.

“I never dreamed of becoming four times Olympic champion and a multi world champion. All I ever dreamed of was competing for Britain.

“Now I just want to continue to see what I can do on the road, without having a target on my back, and just try to enjoy it without so much pressure.

“I’m going to a completely new game on the roads with a new mind and I’m excited.” — Reuters.

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