Mo Farah seals win on New York half-marathon debut

Farah put in a strong finish to seal victory

Mo Farah put in a superb sprint finish to win the New York City half-marathon on his debut over the distance.

The Briton, who won the European indoor 3,000m title two weeks ago, just edged out Ethiopia's Gebre Gebremariam.

Farah, 27, won in one hour 23 seconds, with Gebremariam two seconds behind and Farah's American training partner Galen Rupp another five seconds adrift.

"I'm definitely in the best form of my life. I don't know what's next but I'm in great shape," said Farah.

"I would like to test myself over the marathon after 2012, but I still feel I have a few years left in me on the track.

"I felt all right today, but running 26.2 miles is a long way and running a half-marathon does not mean you're going to be good in a marathon.

We knew Gebremariam had a big finish so we worked hard but we still could not get rid of him. I felt all right with 400m to go and just went for it

Mo Farah

"It's a great feeling when you cross the line and get the British flag around you. Once you get that, you just want it to continue."

Farah had to take evasive action and jump over Rupp and defending champion Peter Kamais after they crashed to the ground in Central Park.

The Briton kept pace with Gebremariam, who won the full New York marathon last year, until the final 400m when he used his track speed to take victory in the third fastest time ever over the undulating course.

"It was a great race. Me and Galen worked together. The crowd made a big difference and it was really exciting," said Farah.

"We knew Gebremariam had a big finish so we worked hard but we still could not get rid of him. I felt all right with 400m to go and just went for it."

Farah has moved to Oregon to be coached by Alberto Salazar, a three-time winner of the full New York marathon, in a bid to boost his chances of success at the 2012 Olympics in London.

He decided to step up and compete in the half-marathon as preparation for the 5,000m and 10,000m at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in August.

I would have liked a higher position but I'm very, very encouraged by the time as it's my first race in six months

Jo Pavey

He added: "Alberto is a great coach and training had been going so well so we knew I was in good shape - but in the race it was just a case of following everyone else."

Britain's Jo Pavey, who was also making her debut over the distance, finished sixth in 69:33 in the women's event.

The 37-year-old was pleased with her performance as she builds up to next month's London Marathon.

"I would have liked a higher position but I'm very, very encouraged by the time as it's my first race in six months," she said.

"Someone told me the 11th and 12th miles were run in 5:03 and 5:04 and that's what did the damage for me. That blew the race apart.

"It was a tough field but time-wise I'm fairly pleased and I think that will stand me in good stead for London."

The race was won by Kenya's Caroline Rotich in a new course record of 68:52, eclipsing the previous best of 69:25 set by Britain's Mara Yamauchi last year.