Mo Farah on his way to winning the 5000m at the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Eugene (© Victah Sailer)
British long distance star Mo Farah has picked the IAAF Diamond League final at Zurich’s Letzigrund Stadium to bow out from his stunning track career, organisers of the 13th 2017 IAAF Diamond League meeting, set for 24 August, have announced.
Prior to switching to longer distances and the road, Farah plans to return to Zurich for a farewell appearance. Letzigrund Stadium is the venue where he broke the 13-minute barrier in the men’s 5000m in 2010, and is where he was crowned double European champion four years later. Now, he plans to bid the track farewell in the legendary arena.
Farah could end his glorious career with one more track title by stepping off the track as an IAAF Diamond League champion. Before his final track race, however, Farah is hoping to live up his favourite's role in the 5000m and 10,000 in front of a home crowd at the IAAF World Championships London 2017 next month.
Farah, who won at the Eugene IAAF Diamond League meeting this year, is one of 12 athletes to have qualified for the final in Zurich according to the series’ new system through which the best competitors of the IAAF Diamond League season qualify for the event finals. The finalists will be competing for a share of US$ 100,000 in prize money in each of the 16 events held in Zurich, with the winners of each final awarded $50,000. The remaining 16 IAAF Diamond League final events will be held in Brussels one week later.
Organisers for the IAAF
2017 IAAF Diamond League calendar:
5 May – Doha, QAT
13 May – Shanghai, CHN
27 May – Eugene, USA
8 Jun – Rome, ITA
15 Jun – Oslo, NOR
18 Jun – Stockholm, SWE
1 Jul – Paris, FRA
6 Jul – Lausanne, SUI
9 Jul – London, GBR
16 Jul – Rabat, MAR
21 Jul – Monaco, MON
20 Aug – Birmingham, GBR
24 Aug – Zurich, SUI
1 Sep – Brussels, BEL
