Farah wins European Indoor 3000m gold

MO Farah claimed Britain's first gold at the European Indoor Championship with a canny victory in the men's 3000m.

BEST YET: Mo Farah claims his 3000m title at the European Indoor Championships is his best win yet (Getty Images)

Farah's time of 7.40.17 was a new championship record as France's Bouabdellah Tahri and Spain's Jesus Espana completed the podium

Farah failed to make the 5000m final at last year’s Olympics in Beijing – a crushing disappointment he claims has motivated him during every training session this winter.

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“I’ve worked so hard for this and it’s paid off,” said the former European cross-country champion.

“Last year was such a disappointment and it was hard to deal with, so this is a very emotional win because of that.

“I felt the pressure of being favourite but I had to take that and it’s a great learning experience.

“My tactic was to go hard and the two other Brits in the final really helped me through the first kilometre.”

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However, Farah admitted having the fast-finishing Tahri on his shoulder during the final four laps was a concern.

But when he sensed the time was right, he soon hammered down a convincing winning margin.

“It wasn’t easy having someone sit on me the whole way, snapping at my heels,” he added.

“I was tense and telling myself to relax and keep my head up. With 400m to go I put my foot down and then just tried to open up a gap.

“There is a lot more to come from me. I’ve got a great team around me and it’s a really exciting time.”

JAMES TONEY in Turin