|ALBERTO SALAZAR| COACHING EDGE
11
Farah’s Verdict
It was in January 2011 that Mo Farah
relocated his wife and step-daughter Rihanna
to Portland, Oregon, to a new home solely
with the view to becoming the world’s leading
distance runner. The move to team up with
Alberto Salazar has paid off in a big way.
Farah puts it bluntly when he says: ‘Alberto has
made me.’ The statistics make it hard to
disagree. At their first major championships
together – the 2011 World Championships in
Daegu – Farah won gold in the 5000m,
having earlier been pipped to the 10,000m
title by Ibrahim Jeilan.
Since then Jeilan, his fellow Ethiopians and the
rest of the continent of Africa have not been
able to defeat Farah when it’s mattered. He
now boasts five global titles in all, having in the
last year alone having won two Olympic golds
and two World titles.
‘He’s just always right,’ says Farah of his
mentor. ‘He’ll say to me I’ll run this time or that
whatever the distance... and he’s right. He said
I was capable of breaking the British record for
the 1500m in Monaco and I did that when I
didn’t think it was possible.
‘It means I just have total faith in him as more
and more of what he says comes true. He’s
been the great difference that’s taken me to
this point.’
So what exactly are Salazar’s strengths?
THE COACH’S EDGE
‘He dictates everything I do – my training, my
diet, my competition, everything I need to do
to get it right,’ Farah says. ‘He gets me to do it
and that’s what I do. It sounds simple but it’s
not, it’s hard work for both of us.’
Salazar’s top tips:
Release the inner athlete – you can’t
make an athlete great from scratch.
They already need to have that
greatness, you just need to bring
that greatness out. Make sure you
give your athlete the best weapons.
They’re like the SEALS in the US or
the British SAS. They need the best
weapons to go into battle. Don’t just
be a coach. You have to be a part
of these athletes’ lives too. Hopefully
I can help Mo in his private life as
well as his track life. Never forget
you’re still learning. I never think I’m
done as a coach. I cross over in so
many other sports at Nike – it’s
inevitable. So remember to tap into
any information you can, wherever
it comes from. If you stand still,
people will come past you. You
always have to get better. That’s the
way you get to the top and that’s
the way you stay there.