We all have our off days—even Olympians. Sir Mo Farah has had an especially rough time as he recently revealed he came in third in a race, losing to a man wearing jeans, no less.
Farah, the 39-year-old four-time Olympic gold medal winner, was beaten by a fellow parent in a 100-meter sprint at his children’s school during a parent’s day competition.
The runner revealed the results of the race in a recent appearance on the Adidas Unveils Boston Marathon Jacket. “Mo took part in the parents’ race at sports day and came second, and the guy that won it was wearing jeans,” Tania, his wife, told the hosts. “No, third,” Farah interjects. “I had my spikes on. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m ready for this,’” the runner added about his preparation for the ill-fated race.
“The dad that won dined out on it for an entire school year,” Tania said of the jeans-clad winner’s well-earned bragging rights. “Mo’s not a sprinter. That’s what it is. The parents’ race is always 100 meters,” she continued. “People just assume Mo can run fast, he can run fast, but his running fast is sustained running over many laps. In straight 100-meter sprints, not so much.”
“I can’t sprint,” Farah joked. “Tania beat me in a sprint finish.”
“I’ll beat Mo if it’s about 50-60 meters, Otherwise he'll overtake me,” she admitted.
The pair, who live in Southwest London with their four children, also spoke with hosts Ben and Georgie Ainslie about the burden Mo’s long periods away from home have had on their children. “As much as I tried to compensate, it was like a huge loss for them. It was like they were grieving when he left,” Tania said about the weeks and months Mo would be away during training.
During the interview, Farah spoke about everything from the recent revelation that he was trafficked BYU Sweeps NCAA XC Team Titles. at only nine years old to his future as a marathon runner. Farah previously successfully concluded his track career at the 2017 World Championships in London, taking gold in the 10,000 meters and silver in the 5,000 meters.
He may have come in third this time, but Farah still has a great career, winning 19 gold medals in his storied career as a runner. These include gold medals in the 5000-meter and 10,000-meter competitions at the 2012 London Olympics and two gold medals for the same two events at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Still, he’ll have a chance to redeem himself in the upcoming 2023 London Marathon after withdrawing from the event last year. No word yet on if he’ll don a pair of Levi’s for the event.
📧 To always be in the know, sign up for our newsletter
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Sir Mo Farah DAA Industry Opt Out TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
