Mo Farah has 50-50 chance of competing at World Championships

Farah may have been targeting a return to elite competition at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham at the end of July or the European Championships in Munich in August

Mo Farah has 50-50 chance of competing at World Championships
Mo Farah

Mo Farah is back in training with a “50-50” chance of competing at this summer’s World Athletics Championships.

There had been concerns that Farah’s career in elite athletics was over after he had failed to qualify for the 10,000m at the Tokyo Olympic Games, twice falling short of the qualifying time in trials.

The 39-year-old also struggled in his recovery from a fractured foot last year but he will be back in action at the Vitality London 10,000m event on May 2.

Farah may have been targeting a return to elite competition at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham at the end of July or the European Championships in Munich in August but Christian Malcolm, the British Athletics head coach, believes that he has a chance of making the World Championships in Oregon, which begin on July 15.

“Mo is working hard and training,” Malcolm said. “We will see how he goes in the summer. But he’s at that age now where you have to take it week-by-week, month-by-month, see where you are at in training.”

Regarding the World Championships, he added: “It’s possible. We don’t know at the moment. It’s 50-50 if I am being honest with you. Hopefully we will know a little bit more over the next six weeks. Does he still have a talent? Yes, he does. So let’s see if his body can handle it. Like I said, over the next six weeks Mo will know a little bit more about where he is at.”

Speaking to Vitality last month as his participation at the event was announced, Farah said: “I’m really looking forward to getting out there and racing again at an event that I really love. I’ve been working hard to get back into shape following my injury last summer and I’ve got a few more months of hard training ahead of me, so it’s good to have a target like the Vitality London 10,000m to work towards.

“I have great memories of the event. I have won it seven times and racing in central London is something you can never get bored of. The atmosphere among the thousands of participants is always fantastic and I can’t wait to be part of it again.”