Usain Bolt to run with Mo Farah?

Dinesh Weerawansa reporting from Russia

MOSCOW, Aug. 17 - Hardly anybody even with little background on track and field would ask a sprinter to race with a long distance runner even in their wildest dreams. But British Olympic double gold medallist Mo Farah has other ideas.

Farah, who completed that grand long distance double of gold medals in men’s 5,000m and 10,000m at last year’s London Olympic Games, has challenged the fastest man ever on earth - Usain Bolt!

During a recent interview with Sky News, Mo asked Bolt if he was up for a race, and Bolt’s instant reply was that he is up for anything!

Farah usually runs long distances such as 5,000 and 10,000. In contrast, Bolt is a 100m and 200m specialist who has engraved his name as the best ever sprinter in the world. He holds the world record in both the sprints - 9.58 seconds in 100m and 19.19 seconds in 200. Both these records had been established within the space of five days during the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Germany.

Farah’s challenge to the Jamaican sprint merchant was for a 1,500m race but Bolt has already said that 1,500m would be too far for him. The Jamaican sprint merchant said if the pair were to race, it would have to be a distance somewhere in between, “like 600m”.

“1,500m? It’s way too far... 600 for sure, I can try because I’ve done 600m in training,” Bolt was quoted as saying.

Physical experts have instantly discovered as why the British long distance specialist has suggested a distance of 1,500m to race with Bold. “Mo Farah is really smart.

He knows that he will win anything over 600m,” Professor Neil Fowler, Head of Exercise & Sport Science at Manchester Metropolitan University, was quoted as saying.

“At that distance it’s an aerobic event... top speed won’t matter. The difference lies in how efficiently the leg muscles can produce energy from oxygen, which becomes more important in distances over 400m.

Sprinting is really simple as an activity. You want to get up to maximum speed as quickly as you can and then run as fast as you can through the line,” Prof Fowler has explained.

“Long distance athletes are more interested in their ability to keep going. They’ve got to be able to move fast but they’ve got to be able to keep going,” he added.

He goes on to technically analyse the winner of the suggested star-studded race. “Every day of the week Mo Farah would win that race over 600m.

At 400m, Bolt will be 20m in front. By 600m he’ll be gasping, he’ll be bent on his knees and spent,” the expert has said.

European men’s 10,000m record holder Farah is not the only sports star to make such suggestion for a friendly competition with Bolt as an exhibition race.

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has said that he would like to play a match against top women’s singles player Serena Williams after a fan suggested it.

Murray has even suggested a venue for the match in his latest BBC Sport column.

“I’d be up for it, why not? How about Las Vegas as a venue?”

He even comes out with a unique idea why fans would be interested in watching men play against women - to see how the styles match up.

Serena Williams has replied to the proposal saying that she is up for it, but added: “I doubt I’d win a point, but that would be fun”.