Sky Sports News test favours a Mo Farah win
A potential race between Mo Farah and Usain Bolt has sparked debate - and Sky Sports News put the idea to the test.
Last Updated: 31/07/13 11:35am
To examine the challenges that would face Farah - the long distance specialist, and Bolt - the fastest man on the planet, we brought together sprinter Umar Hameed and 5000m runner Josh Norman.
As recommended by Professor Roderick King, a leading expert on the physical and mental make-up of elite athletes, the two raced over 550m and it was Norman who took the win.
"The race panned out a lot different to how I imagined it would," he said.
"Umar went off a lot quicker than I thought he would, I thought he'd sit with me and try and kick the last 150m but he took it out and it hurt me.
"To 400m I was in pain but obviously being a sprinter the lactic kicked in and he just couldn't handle it. Us distance boys are used to it."
So it was victory for the distance runner in Sky Sports News' experiment - much in line with the bookmakers who have Farah as favourite to win at both 600m and 800.
However, former Olympic 100m champion Allan Wells reckons the way Bolt could win is by keeping pace with Farah until the final bend and then letting his speed tell in the closing stages.
He told Sky Sports News: "Mo's not slow, and if it was me I'd let him pull me along, be relaxed, and we know Mr Bolt can turn the turbo on any time he wants.
"That's how I would work it, maybe in the last 20m or 30m."
