Sir Mo Farah wins fourth straight Great North Run title
Last Updated: 10/09/17 7:32pm
Sir Mo Farah made history once again on Sunday as he won his fourth successive Great North Run title, finishing in a time of one hour and six seconds.
Great Britain's four-time Olympic champion overcame the challenge of Jake Robertson of New Zealand in the closing stages to claim the prestigious half-marathon title once again.
Farah becomes the first athlete to win the blue riband Newcastle road race four times in a row, and is now level in terms of most victories with Kenya's Benson Masya, who was champion four times in the 1990s (1991, 1992, 1994 and 1996).
Last month the 34-year-old finished his glittering track career with a thrilling 5,000m victory at the Diamond League final in Zurich.
Farah required a sprint finish in the north-east to see off Kiwi rival Robertson, who pushed him to the limit, by six seconds while Ethiopia's Feyisa Lilesa finished in third.
Farah told the BBC after his season-concluding race: "That was really, really tough. I'm sore everywhere - I've never been this sore!
"[Doing less training than he normally would] was definitely telling. With four miles to go I was just hanging on, gritting my teeth.
"As we got closer, I managed to believe in myself and dig, and I was thinking 'if I can just sit on [Robertson], at the end I can sprint'.
"I'm so pleased with how the season has gone. I'll go on a little holiday with the missus and then come back fresh. I'm looking forward to sticky toffee pudding and apple pie!"
Kenya's Mary Keitany won the women's race for a third time, with compatriot and 2016 champion Vivian Cheruiyot coming second and Caroline Kipkirui completing a Kenyan triumvirate.
Fourth place went to another Kenyan, Magdalyne Masai, who had further reason for joy after New Zealander Robertson proposed to her at the finish line after his race.
Briton Simon Lawson came first in the men's wheelchair race, with Swiss athlete Manuela Shar winning the women's.
