OLD habits die hard, but supporting a Brit came naturally to the people of one Donegal town at the weekend – as they roared a British athlete to success.
The town was Milford – the athlete was Mo Farah!
That’s because super Mo’s manager is Milford man and former Finn Valley AC athlete Ricky Simms!
Yesterday M0 – who spent Christmas in Donegal with the Simms family a couple of years ago – became the first Brit to win a global 5,000m title when he won the World Championship yesterday.
Farah, 28, said: “I just want to enjoy this moment. I’m so very proud, I still can’t believe it.
“A few years ago I thought the Africans could never be beaten — the Kenyans and Ethiopians were so far ahead.
“I came so close with a silver in the 10k and I just wanted to do it in the 5k. I’ve got the gold and it feels amazing. Now I’m just looking forward to 2012.”
Farah beat off a field of top Africans, including distance legend Bernard Lagat, to win gold in 13min 23.36sec.
Farah, who moved to London from Somalia with his family when he was eight, added: “When you make a lot of sacrifices and you work hard, not everything goes smoothly.
“I was disappointed with the 10k as I thought I could win. So in the 5,000m I knew when it went down to the finish I had to make sure I had something left.
“This is something you train for every day, week in week out, sometimes three times a day. Gold is what every athlete wants.”
The people of Milford couldn’t agree more.
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