Farah wins first gold in IAAF World Championships

Local favorite Mohamed Farah won the highly-anticipated first gold medal for Britain at the IAAF World Championships with his 10,000m victory here on Friday.

It was Farah's third consecutive triumph in the event at worlds after 2013 and 2015. He was also the two-time Olympic gold medalist in 2012 and 2016, winning 5,000m and 10,000m in both occasions.

Farah positioned himself in the leading group with several other runners for the most part of the race. Although clipped twice in the final lap, Farah made a sprint with 100m remaining to cross the finish line with a world leading time of 26 minutes and 49.51 seconds.

Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei of Uganda finished runner-up with 26:49.94, while the bronze medal went to Paul Kipngetich Tanui of Kenya, who clocked 26:50.60.

Farah shared his victory at the first momement with his family. "It was a long journey, but it was amazing. Thanks for everyone's support. It was hard, but I tried to be as strong as I could," he said.

A record 2,038 athletes from 203 countries and regions will be competing at the 16th edition of the IAAF's flagship event, which runs through to August 13.