Mo Farah Returns for London Marathon Before Likely 2023 Retirement
Mo Farah, a four-time Olympic champion for Great Britain, said on Tuesday that 2023 will be the last year of his professional career.
After saying he would give his hometown London Marathon “one more go” in April, he did this.
Farah has ran the London Marathon three times with a best performance of third in 2018, the same year he won the Chicago Marathon. Farah withdrew from last year’s race due to injury.
Farah, who turns 40 in March, declared, “I’m not going to the Olympics, and I think 2023 will probably be my last year.”
“It has been an incredible career, and running in the London Marathon is a major accomplishment for me.
“It would be lovely to win it someday, but it takes a lot of work, I’ve always said. Just saying “goodbye” is lovely, and I anticipate it will be pretty emotional.
“I am quite proud of what I have accomplished, but I still want to give it my all and see what further I can do. But I have nothing to back that up.”
Eilish McColgan, the current 10,000 meter champion at the Commonwealth Games, will compete alongside Mo Farah. Last year, McColgan withdrew before making her debut due to a health issue.
The 32-year-old is the daughter of Liz McColgan, the 1996 champion.
“It was sad that I did not participate in the London Marathon in 2017. The 2022 Birmingham Games gold champion added, “I had such a terrific summer on the track and the idea was always to follow it with my marathon debut in London.”
But April will come around pretty soon because I was able to spend more time to completely prepare for running a marathon. I am therefore really excited.
My mother won the 1996 London Marathon, so it is obviously a meaningful event for me and my family, and I can’t wait to participate in it myself.
On April 23, the race will take place on the streets of London. On Wednesday, the complete elite field will be revealed.
