Mo Farah has hit back at criticism that his decision to run only half of the London Marathon on Sunday was motivated by money. The double Olympic champion spoke openly of his hurt and shock at the comments levelled at him in media reports and from some former athletes, including the BBC pundit and m world record-holder, Michael Johnson, who stated that he risked ruining his reputation for a race that "looks like it is all about the money", just months after being hailed as a national hero for his historic double win in the Olympic Stadium.
As an athlete, yes there are rewards, don't get me wrong, for what I achieve. When you become Olympic champion and everything else when you go into a race, yes there are rewards.
But for someone to say he's only doing it for those rewards β¦ that's wrong. I'm here to do well. This race, in my heart, I'm here to learn about the course, learn about everything else, use it as a learning curve, and get ready for next year.
It wasn't: 'Yes I'm getting so and so, I'm going to do it! And that's one of the things that hurts. I genuinely enjoy my athletics. It's something I did as a kid. It was a hobby which became my job. To turn up just for this and that would be the wrong reasons. It's not nice but all the people who know me and know who I am know I'm not the sort of person who would do that. Farah was keen to emphasise his respect for the race, in which he will leave the field at the 13th mile on Sunday, describing how his tactics have been thought out so as not to disturb the competitors going the full distance as well as his decision not to do any media on the day of the race.
That's out of respect. You have to respect the guys who are out here. It's a no-brainer when you think about it. If someone is giving you a practice run, why would you turn that down?
