Tonight all eyes will be trained on Great Britain’s Sir Mo Farah as he goes for a second gold medal at the World Athletics Championships.
Farah, 34, is currently the only Briton with a medal at the tournament after his victory in the 10,000m last weekend.
If he is first to cross the line yet again, in the 5,000m, at the London Stadium the Somalia-born athlete will have defended his crowns in both distance events for the last three successive World Championships.
Even if there is no fairy tale ending, similar to what happened with a certain Jamaican sprinter, Farah will go down as one of the true greats in the sport.
Hard work and determination have been at the heart of everything the four-time Olympic gold medal winner has achieved.
Following his first major title in the 5,000m at the 2001 European Athletics Junior Championships Farah took the bold decision to start sharing a house with several Kenyan runners, including then world number one Micah Kogo.
He had already endured being split up from family members, after leaving war-torn Somalia, so the bravery he showed by taking up residence with these relative strangers gave a great reflection of his dedication from the outset.
The next few years would see him enter the world stage, recording sixth and seventh place finishes, in the 5,000m race, at the 2007 and 2009 World Championships respectively.
In between that was the heartbreak of failing to make the 5,000m final, during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing which was a bitter blow in Farah’s journey for greatness.
Undeterred by the disappointment in China, Farah took drastic measures to ensure he was no longer an also-ran, opting to train in the mountains of Kenya over 6,500 miles away from home.
Spending Christmas and New Year running at 8,000 feet and even cutting short his honeymoon with wife Tania were just some of the sacrifices Farah made to close the gap on his East African rivals.
The readiness to do whatever it took, no matter how emotionally and physical enduring, was another reflection of his passion for the sport and ultimately helped propel him to the next level.
Barcelona was where Farah would reap the rewards of all his hard work, as he claimed gold medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000m at the 2010 European Championships – he became the first British male to claim a double at a major championship.
After success on the European stage, Farah was gearing up for another World Championships and decided that he would move to Portland, Oregon full-time and start work with a new coach, Alberto Salazar.
Well aware that the competition is a lot more intense on the world stage, Farah believed a move to America to enlist the help of Salazar would help him to fully realize his potential.
This was another massive shock to the system, leaving behind what he knew after so many years with long-term coach Alan Storey, but it was yet more evidence of Farah’s desire and tremendous commitment.
The decision proved extremely fruitful, with Farah dramatically improving upon his 7th place finish, in the 5,000m, at the 2009 World Championships by taking gold two years later in South Korea.
Not content with just the one medal, Farah later came within three hundredths of a second from clinching 1st place in the 10000m, just being edged by Ethiopia’s Ibrahim Jeilan.
Suddenly there was an overwhelming weight of expectation that Farah was going to bring success for Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Another quality of a great athlete is their ability to handle pressure and not let it affect their performance.
The Somali-born Londoner, who also had to deal with the extra expectation that comes with a home crowd, displayed that burning desire to be the best, sneaking past USA’s Galen Rupp to claim a historic gold medal in the 10000m.
That day, which saw him become the first Briton to win an Olympic 10000m final, would be another key milestone along his journey into becoming one of the sport’s great icons.
The next few years signalled unrivalled success for Farah, as he defended his crown in the 5,000m at the 2013 World Championships before taking top spot on the podium in the 10,000m race.
Once there was a time where he was some distance of any place on the podium but now there was nobody that was capable of knocking him off the most prestigious spot.
Further successful defences of his European and world crowns were the precursor to his finest hour.
Four decades had passed since Lasse Viren won 5,000 and 10,000m golds at consecutive Olympic Games.
The world was waiting to see if Farah could continue to rewrite the history books during last year’s Olympics in Rio.
An enormous tide of expectation emerged once more but Farah was unfazed, recovering from a fall midway through the 10,000m before beating Kenya’s Paul Kipngetich Tanui by half a second.
The familiar sight of Farah standing highest on the podium didn’t change following the 5000m race a week later. This performance further underlined how freakishly consistent he had been in recent years.
Regardless of whether he successfully defends both his gold medals at the World Championships, by winning the 5000m tonight, Farah will be remembered for making an everlasting impression on the sport.
His commitment and passion were the building blocks which helped forge a lasting legacy that will serve as an incredible inspiration for future generations.
