SIR Mo Farah has tipped Laura Muir as a future Olympic champion and said it is feasible for Scotland's emerging athletics superstar to double up in the major events like he does. Farah, whose first competitive appearance since earning a knighthood in the Queen's New Year's honours list will come during today's Simplyhealth Great Edinburgh X Country event in Holyrood Park, has successfully completed the 5,000m and 10,000m double four times at world or Olympic championships. He could hardly fail to be impressed when Muir ran 16 laps of the Emirates Arena track solo on Wednesday to take 14 seconds from Liz McColgan's 25-year British indoor 5,000m record. With the versatile Muir already the UK record holder at 1,500m, Farah threw his weight behind her plan to do the 1,500m and 3,000m double at the European Indoor Championships in Belgrade in March and perhaps also the 1,500m and 5,000m at the outdoor World Championships in London.
"It’s do-able," said Farah. "I don’t know what the timetable is like for Laura but, for me, it suits me doing the 10k, having a couple of days and then coming back to do the 5k. I’m sure her coach will have planned it an advance and checked but I’m sure it is possible. As long as they’re not on the same day, which would make it pretty tough!
"It’s pretty impressive what Laura did the other day," he added. "I’ve been in championships with her and seen what a fighter she is. She’s also come training – and she trains like a beast. That’s what it takes to become a champion. I’m sure she’s seen me training, seen what it takes to progress. I didn’t achieve overnight, it took me years. I finished sixth and seventh in the world, I did struggle – and I had to learn. Laura is learning. As long as she has that dream of becoming an Olympic champion, she will get there."
While Farah lost out in this event to Garrett Heath of the USA 12 months ago, it is now seven years since he has lost to any other British athlete in any race, when going down to Ricky Stevenson and Steve Vernon at this venue in 2010. He recognises Callum Hawkins, ninth in the Olympic marathon, as a threat.
"Callum is going well, that is what I have heard," said Farah. "I have seen him in cross country, he did very well in the Rio marathon and even last year he was up there until the last lap when Garrett decided to go. Garrett isn't going to make it easy, the USA guys won't make it easy, and Callum isn't going to make it easy."
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