Running News Daily

Sir Mo Farah out of Great North Run but he will return to competition next year

Sir Mo Farah will not defend his Great North Run title this weekend but will return to competition next year.

Britain’s most decorated athlete, who has won the last six GNRs, took part in Soccer Aid last weekend despite a stress fracture in his foot.

He appeared briefly as a substitute at the Etihad before limping off and it has been confirmed he has no plans to race in the foreseeable future.

Farah, 38, failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics in June and his reaction sparked speculation he was about to retire.

“I’ve always said if I can’t compete with the best I won’t just go to be in a final,” he said that evening. “Tonight showed it’s not good enough.”

However, Great North Run founder Sir Brendan Foster revealed: “I can assure you Mo isn’t going to finish and I can assure you he’ll compete in the Great North Run again.

“He literally can’t run this weekend and he’s gutted about that as he’s won every year since 2014. We’ve never had anybody as successful as him and everyone will miss him.

“But forget all the talk that he is going to finish. He’s assured me he’ll be running seriously again next summer.”

Next summer sees three major events, with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games sandwiched between World and European Athletics Championships.

The Worlds take place in Oregon where Farah lived and trained for six years. The Somali-born Londoner is a six-time world champion.