Farah bows out with fourth-place finish at Great North Run

LONDON - British distance great Mo Farah completed what he said will be the final race of his celebrated career by finishing fourth in the Great North Run on Sunday.

The four-time Olympic champion, who twice won gold medals over both 5,000 and 10,000 metres on the track, announced earlier this year he would bring the curtain down on his time as an athlete at the half-marathon race in northeast England.

Farah ran a time of 1 hour, three minutes and 28 seconds, with Ethiopia's Tamirat Tola winning the race in 59 min 58 sec.

The 40-year-old Farah, a six-time winner of the Great North Run, was cheered home by spectators lining the course, with fans offering high fives as he neared the finish line.

"Amazing support," Farah told the BBC. "It is the end of my career. I wanted to come here and celebrate.

"It has been an amazing career." He added: "I wanted to end my career here in Newcastle. I won here six times. I wanted to take it all in and enjoy it.

"All I know is running. That is what made me happy for many years." - AFP