Sawt Falasteen - Farah determined to enjoy London Marathon farewell

Farah, a four-time Olympic champion on the track, announced in January that 2023 would be his final year as a top-flight athlete.

He missed last year's London Marathon with a hip injury but the 40-year-old, who has been in training in Ethiopia, is now ready for one final appearance.

Victory on the streets of London has eluded Farah, the 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion on the track at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games, and it would be a major shock were he to win on Sunday.

"It will be my last marathon," Farah told a pre-race press conference on Saturday.

"After that I will do a couple more races, it hasn't been announced yet and I will not announce it yet but in terms of marathons, this is it."

He added: "For me it is a great way to end my marathon career here. This is where it started with the mini-marathon that took place and I won. Then going onto the seniors and finishing third in 2018, that was my best but age catches up with us all.

"The key thing is to make the most of it, enjoy it and I am sure the crowd will make a big difference for me on Sunday.

"As you get to the last 10km, the last six miles, I know it will be tough."

Amos Kipruto, the reigning London men's champion, paid tribute to Farah.

"Yes, Mo Farah is a real inspiration for the young generation like us and I hope to run more years like Mo Farah is racing," he said.

Current world champion Tamirat Tola recalled running with Farah at the 2016 Rio Games, where the Briton claimed gold as the Ethiopian finished third in the 10,000 metres.

"He (Farah) is more experienced in 10,000," said Tola.

"Maybe on Sunday he will run together with us and we will stay together. I hope (this) for him."

Kelvin Kiptum, who ran the third-fastest marathon time in Valencia in December, added he was excited to compete against Farah for the first time.

"One time I used to say I will compete with Mo Farah so I am very excited to race with him," he said.

R.Halabi--SF-PST