Britain's Mo Farah became the first man to retain the 5000 metres title at the European Championships, but then found himself apologising to domestic fans and rivals.
Farah, who is also world champion over the distance, led at the bell in Helsinki's Olympic Stadium and was never going to be caught as he powered to victory in 13 minutes 29.91 seconds.
It was more than 30 seconds slower than his world-leading time for 2012, set in Oregon earlier this month, but the gold medal proved once again that the 29-year-old is now a superb championship athlete.
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