Mo Farah will not defend Olympics 10,000m title in Tokyo

Mo Farah will not be taking part in the men's 10,000 metre race at the Tokyo Olympics, after the four-time gold medalist failed to hit the qualifying time.

Farah fails to qualify for Olympics 10,000m

Farah, who won gold in the 10,000m and 5,000m races at both the 2012 and 2016 Games, needed to beat a time of 27 minutes 28 seconds to qualify.

Despite winning the 10,000m race on day one of the British Championships, Farah clocked a time of 27:47:04 – a stadium record at Manchester Regional Arena but not enough for Olympic qualification.

Farah had been struggling with an ankle injury that hindered his attempts in an Olympic trial in Birmingham earlier this month, though it had reportedly cleared up ahead of the Manchester event.

"I have had a wonderful career," he said when asked if it could mark the end of his track career.

"It is a tough one – if I can't compete with the best, I am not going there to just finish a final. It wasn't good enough tonight.

"It was quite windy. I tried to push and push. I knew I was on my own.

"It was amazing to have a crowd once more. That's all you can do as a human being: you give it your all.

"I've been lucky enough to have had the long career I've had. I'm very grateful but that's all I had today."

Farah has been concentrating on road racing for the past three years, though had hoped to return to the track for the Olympics.