On Super Saturday, the transport system was clogged. People flowed to different venues, filling up seats. One could see people standing near steps and footbridges with placards saying, “I need a ticket for (event name).” And, at night, British runner Mo Farah made the Saturday extra super as he claimed the 10,000m gold at the João Havelange Olympic Stadium. Built for the 2007 Pan American Games, the stadium is in Rio’s Engenho de Dentro area—a middle-class and lower middle class neighbourhood.
The 33-year-old Farah overcame a mid-race fall and zoomed past the field in the final stretch to win the gold in 27 minutes and 5 seconds. Kenya's Paul Tanui took silver, and Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola the bronze.
The crowd sighed when Farah was accidentally tripped by training partner Galen Rupp of the US, with 16 laps to go. Farah picked himself up and soldiered on, before zooming past the Kenyan on the home stretch. Rupp finished fifth in the race.
“I wasn't going to let it go,” Farah said later. “I got up quickly. I thought about my family. It made me emotional. I thought 'get through, get through'. I believed in myself. I've won an Olympic gold for three of my children. Now I'd like to win the 5,000m gold for my little boy."
Farah’s wife, Tania Nell, was pregnant during the London 2012 and delivered twin girls shortly after his double gold there. The twins are named Aisha and Amani. Tania has an elder daughter, Rihanna, from a previous relationship, and Farah treats her like his own daughter. The couple had a baby son, Hussein, in 2015. And, it is for Hussein that Farah wants the 5,000m gold!
When Farah ran past the stands with the Union Jack, the thunder in the stands was unbelievable. The stands lit up with flashes from mobile phones, like a million diamonds. More than the medal, it is the fall and the rise of Mohammed Farah that was super about Saturday.
