LONDON — They train together in Oregon under the guidance of former marathon great Alberto Salazar. They represent different countries in these Olympic games, but Mo Farah and Galen Rupp could hardly have been more close Saturday night.
Farah electrified the crowd of 80,000 in Olympic Stadium by winning the men’s 10,000 meters, giving Great Britain its third gold medal of the evening at the track. Rupp finished on his heels, giving the U.S. its first medal in the men’s 10,000 since Billy Mills won at Tokyo in 1964. In a thrilling race with multiple lead changes and huge roars from the crowd, Farah finished in 27 minutes, 30.42 seconds, with Rupp just 0.48 of a second behind him as he held off a pair of Ethiopians. Tariku Bekele took the bronze and his brother Kenenisa, the defending champion, finished fourth.
Farah and Rupp worked together, plotting strategy while sitting patiently in the middle of the lead pack of a dozen runners through much of the race while letting others exchange surges.
“During the middle of the race, I was starting to get a little antsy,” Rupp said. “I was kind of wondering whether to go, and (Farah) kind of tapped me on the shoulder, he’s like, ‘Just relax, mate, everything’s fine, they’re going to come back. We’ve just got to play it cool now and save everything to the finish.’ That really calmed me down.”
Rupp’s silver was another breakthrough for American distance running, taking an important place in that evolution along with Shalane Flanagan’s bronze medal in the 10,000 at the 2008 Beijing Games and a pair of medals in the marathon at the 2004 Athens Games — silver for Meb Keflezighi, bronze for Deena Kastor.
“It’s still a little weird seeing Great Britain and the United States on a medals stand in a distance race,” Rupp said. “This is something we’ve been talking about, me and Alberto, since high school — coming on 10 years now. To be able to be first and second with my training partner and one of my best friends, I couldn’t be more thrilled and thankful for the way this race went.”
Salazar has coached Rupp, 26, since he was at Central Catholic High School in Portland. Farah joined their Nike Oregon Project in 2010 and won the 10,000 at the world championships last year. Former Colorado Buff Dathan Ritzenhein, another training partner, finished 13th Saturday.
Salazar said seeing Farah and Rupp finish 1-2 meant more to him than anything he achieved in his own running career, which included winning three consecutive New York City Marathons (1980-82).
“The only feelings I’ve had better in my life were getting married and my kids’ births,” Salazar said. “Even my own successes in running, this makes me feel so much better. These guys are like sons to me, and any parent wants better for their kids than they had themselves.”
Farah was born in Somalia but moved to England when he was 8 and speaks with a decided British accent. It was obvious he loved the crowd and the crowd repaid that love.
“This is my home, this is where I grew up,” Farah said. “To win the Olympics where you grew up, where you went to school, it means so much to me.”
It also meant a lot to him for Rupp to share in the joy.
“We work hard together, we train together, we have a good life, we play PlayStation games, he’s one of my best friends,” Farah said. “Me and he just have a good life, we’re just very laid back and chilled out. I’m just so happy that he finished second.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616, jmeyer@denverpost.com or twitter.com/jmeyer26
