Mo Farah breaks David Moorcroft's 34-year British record in 3000m

Mo Farah broke David Moorcroft's record by a tenth of a second

Britain's Mo Farah made athletics history on Sunday when he broke David Moorcroft's 34-year-old British 3000 metres record at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting.

Farah missed last year's meeting in Birmingham, saying he felt too emotionally and physically drained by the doping allegations surrounding his coach, Alberto Salazar.

The double Olympic champion won the race with a time of 7min 32.62sec, a tenth of a second faster than Moorcroft's best time, set in 1982.

The 33-year-old said: "I have been trying for about seven years for that record - it has stood there for a while.

"It has been hard to beat. I knew I was in good shape.

"I had to work the last two laps. It was a little bit breezy the last 200m, I had to dig in deep."

Farah is hoping to defend his 5,000 and 10,000m titles at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio.

Mo Farah said his training for the Olympics had been going well

"Training has been going pretty well, I am in a good place, I have to make sure I don't overcook it, be sensible, believe in myself.

"What I am trying to do is something that has never been done before. It won't be easy.

"People say, 'Oh, Mo won it four years ago. He will get it again'.

"It doesn't work like that. I have to be sensible, be smart, keep enjoying it."

Farah now holds the British record for the 1,500m, 3,000m, two miles, 5,000m, 10,000m and half-marathon, as well as four indoor national records.

The athlete also paid tribute to boxing great Muhammad Ali by striking a boxing pose on the start-line before his record-smashing victory.

Greg Rutherford's winning streak was ended by Marquise Goodwin

"It was a tribute definitely to Muhammad Ali," said Farah. "My sympathy goes to his family, he was a great man.

"He was a real influence on me as I wrote in my biography, I looked up to him."

Meanwhile, Greg Rutherford had his winning streak broken in the long jump - suffering his first defeat since July 2015 to Marquise Goodwin.  

Rutherford finished fifth with a best jump of 8.01m and later complained of a neck injury, which he believes hampered his performance.

Rutherford said: "I have made it worse on the first landing and I am currently unable to move my neck. The doctor thinks it is a bad whiplash, but it won't affect my Olympic bid. I am positive the British Athletics medical staff will be able to fix it over the next week."