He may have seen his early year training disrupted by illness but Mo Farah insists all thoughts are firmly on defending his two titles at the 2015 World Athletics Championships.
Double Olympic champion Farah had been due to represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland at this weekend’s Great Edinburgh Cross-Country international challenge race against the USA and Europe.
However, he has been forced to withdraw due to a bout of flu over the festive period which affected his preparations.
Farah pulled out of last year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow due to illness before bouncing back in style with double gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the European Championships in Zurich.
And while his coach Alberto Salazar last year stressed the importance of cross-country to the 31-year-old’s schedule, Farah insists success on the track – including defending the world 5,000m and 10,000m golds he won in Moscow two years ago – remain his priority this season.
“Unfortunately I have to cancel my participation in the Great Edinburgh XCountry as I had the flu over the Christmas and New Year period and had to take some days off training,” said Farah.
“My main goal for 2015 is the IAAF World T&F Championships in Beijing and I will keep training hard to defend my 5000m and 10,000m titles.”
© Sportsbeat 2015