Van Commenee hails Farah:World 5,000m champion lauded by head of UK Athletics

UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee has described Mo Farah as "a complete athlete".

World 5,000 metres champion Farah dropped down to 1,500m for Saturday's Aviva International Match in Glasgow and rounded off the last top-class indoor event at the Kelvin Hall with a brilliant performance.
Despite only arriving back in the country two days earlier after five weeks of altitude training in Kenya, Farah outsprinted Augustine Choge - the fastest man in the world over the distance indoors in 2011 - to seal victory for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the five-team event.
That was precisely what Farah wanted as he looks to hone his sprint finish ahead of his bid for Olympic glory in London, and Van Commenee was as impressed as anyone in the capacity crowd of 3,500.
"We'll remember that race for a while, it was fantastic,'' Van Commenee said.
"Beating the world leader is quite special. It's not his distance so it's very pleasing to see the world champion over 5,000m beat the best athlete over 1500m. That's very encouraging.
"It seems like Mo always has another gear. All athletes of that calibre like to fight, but not everybody has the engine.

"He's the world champion, there are not any weaknesses. Last year in the 10k (at the World Championships in Daegu) he was slightly taken by surprise but he is warned now - he's a complete athlete.
"It's good for the nation, but he's not the only one. We have a good group of athletes at the moment who have the capacity to represent the nation well at the Games.
"Mo at the moment is the number one, but there are a few who can take over."
Farah's win was one of seven for the home team, with Mark Lewis-Francis(60m), Danny Talbot (200m), Margaret Adeoye (200m), Joe Thomas (800m), Jeanette Kwakye (60m) and Yamile Aldama (triple jump) also victorious.
"It was very pleasing to see we had a new name like Margaret,'' Van Commenee added. "Danny and Joe are not new but they made a mark here.
"I was very impressed with Joe Thomas, the way he ran, that makes him a strong candidate to make the Olympic team and world indoors.
"Kwakye coming out with 7.26 seconds; in her best year she did 7.24 in her first race so that promises a lot.''

Injury problems for Turner

Not such good news was the sight of world bronze medallist Andy Turner again struggling with a long-standing Achilles injury.
Turner, who reacted angrily to suggestions on Twitter that he faked the injury after finishing last in Glasgow, will undergo an MRI scan on Monday morning to further assess the situation.
"It's the same thing as last year, it just flares up for no reason,'' said Turner, who spent three months training near Disney World in Florida over the winter.
"I'm 31 and my body is falling apart. I had an injection on it last Friday and thought it would take all the pain away as it did last year, but it hasn't really done anything yet.
"I had a cortisone injection in my ankle last year which fixed it but it lasts for three months. Three or four weeks after Daegu it started coming back.
"After two or three weeks of complete rest it had gone completely, but you can't really have two or three weeks off right now.
"I'm just going to have to get on with it. I don't think the Achilles is the problem, I think my foot and ankle is getting tight and pulling on the Achilles.
"I've been training on it for most of last season, working through pain with every step. Some days are worse than others.
"It's not a worry that it's going to get worse or pop, it's that I'm having to tailor my training around it."