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Mo Farah: Roar me to glory – London 2012 Olympics

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Roar me to glory, says Mo as British star eyes Olympic glory in 10,000m

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UPDATED:

22:21 GMT, 3 August 2012

The bell sounds on Saturday night, Mo Farah enters the final lap and he needs help. Yours, if you're lucky enough to be inside the Olympic Stadium.

He will do the running. He wants you to create the mother of all noises, a massive crescendo to carry him home in the 10,000 metres.

When he starts acting like a mini-Usain Bolt to blow away the opposition after 24 sapping laps of the track, he wants to hear you. Home advantage, Farah thinks, will be crucial.

Home favourite: Farah is bidding for gold at the London Olympics

Home favourite: Farah is bidding for gold at the London Olympics

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'What really gets me through is the crowd – having that energy from the crowd cheering you on,' he said.

'Crystal Palace last month was amazing, everybody cheering for me and at the end people shouting, “We want Mo”. I really enjoy it. That's the feeling that makes you want to work hard in training and want to do well.

'That last lap depends on how loud they are, the adrenaline produced. It makes a big difference. When that cheering is getting louder you want to do well and it gives you that bit more energy.'

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Centre of attention: Farah can expect huge support from the mainly British crowd

Centre of attention: Farah can expect huge support from the mainly British crowd

Farah's stand-out opponent is Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia's defending Olympic champion.

Farah said: 'He is the one. He has more experience than anyone else. He has won more medals than anyone else and seems to get it right in the championships.

'But that's just one athlete and you can't just be concentrating on one. I have to think about the rest of the guys and come up with the best plan I can to try to win that race.'

London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah arrives at Heathrow ahead of trials

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To be or not to be… Olympic champion Yes, that is the question, Mo!

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UPDATED:

21:40 GMT, 20 June 2012

Mo Farah touched down at Heathrow on Wednesday with his exuberant daughter Rhianna wearing a T-shirt posing the question on everyone's lips. 'To be or not to be'… an Olympic champion this summer

The 5,000 metres world champion flew in for the Olympic trials in Birmingham this weekend.

He is in superb form, having dismantled world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, his main rival for gold in London, in Eugene, Oregon, this month.

Posing the question: Farah touched down in London ahead of this weekend's trials

Posing the question: Farah touched down in London ahead of this weekend's trials

Mo Farah retains Bupa London 10,000m title

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Farah right on track after retaining Bupa London title for fourth year

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UPDATED:

19:33 GMT, 27 May 2012

On track: Mo Farah celebrates

On track: Mo Farah celebrates

Mo Farah retained his Bupa London 10,000m title on Sunday for a fourth consecutive year and declared himself on track for the Olympics.

The Somali-born Londoner, 29, ran the final kilometre in 2min 25secs to finish in 29:21 – just in front of Japan's Arata Fujiwara in second with Britain's Scott Overall in third.

It was well outside Farah's personal best of 27:44 but he said: 'It's all going in the right direction. I've had another year of running and I am feeling stronger now. I am very excited about the Olympics, I just need to stay injury-free and focused. It's just nice to come back here and run in London.'

Elsewhere, Phillips Idowu kept his triple jump preparations on track with his second win in a week at a meet in Holland.

Idowu, 33, jumped a competition record of 17.31 metres at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Games in Hengelo, Holland on Sunday, improving on his 17.24m jump the previous weekend when he beat world champion Christian Taylor.

Also in Hengelo, former 10,000m world record holder Haile Gebrselassie, 39, failed to qualify for the Games after finishing seventh, almost nine seconds behind winner Tariku Bekele in a race staged as an official Ethiopian Olympic trial.

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London 2012 Olympics: Mo Farah to race in Oregon

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Farah to step up Olympic preparations with tough test against Bekele in Orgeon

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UPDATED:

21:30 GMT, 1 May 2012

Mo Farah faces a tough dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, on June 2. Racing the world 5,000 metres champion will be Olympic champion and world record-holder Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia.

Big hope: Mo Farah will step up his preparations for London

Big hope: Mo Farah will step up his preparations for London

London 2012 Olympics: Ethiopia ban 35 athletes for missing training camp

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Ethiopia ban 35 athletes and put their Olympic places in jeopardy

Ethiopia have banned 35 athletes indefinitely and put their chances of competing at London 2012 in doubt.

Olympic men's 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion Kenenisa Bekele is the most high profile name to be banned.

Ethiopia's governing body are angry over flagging results in the past few years and summoned 200 athletes to a training camp two months ago ahead of the World Indoor Championships in March and the Olympics.

Banned: Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele is one of the high profile athletes not able to compete

Banned: Olympic champion Kenenisa Bekele is one of the high profile athletes not able to compete

But Bekele and other athletes including Olympic women's 5,000 and 10,000 gold medallist Tirunesh Dibaba ignored the call-up, technical director Dube Jilo said.

'We have banned 35 athletes, including Kenenisa and Tirunesh, from competing in any event,' he said.

'It has been two months now since we summoned every athlete in contention, but this group has so far failed to respond.'

He said the ban would be reconsidered as soon as the athletes reported for training.

No show: Tirunesh Dibaba did not turn up to the training camp

No show: Tirunesh Dibaba did not turn up to the training camp

Bekele, who has yet to decide if he will compete in London anyway, was not immediately available for comment. Neither was Dibaba.

The 29-year-old Bekele, who had not raced on the track since 2009 because of injury, dropped out of the 10,000 metres at last year's world championships in Daegu, South Korea, after 10 laps.

However, he was back to his best at the Brussels Diamond league meeting later in the season, setting a year's best for the 10,000.

For years a powerhouse in long-distance track events, Ethiopia has lost ground in recent years with local commentators concerned by a lack of talent coming through the ranks to replace the likes of the great Haile Gebrselassie.

After a disappointing World Championships in Daegu, the country's athletics chiefs decided to revamp their preparations for upcoming events.

'There is a lack of commitment, and our preparations haven't been up to standard so far,' Dube said.

'We have to distinguish who is in good shape ahead of events.'