Medal double proves sacrifices were worth the effort for Farah

The 27-year-old has had to spend weeks away from wife Tania and daughter Rihanna at a training camp in the mountains of Kenya to prepare himself mentally and physically for his assault on Europe.

The sacrifices paid off in style as an emotional Farah sank to his knees on the track after clinching 5,000 metres gold at Barcelona's Olympic Stadium to add to the 10,000m title he won on the opening night of competition, becoming the first man since Italy's Salvatore Antibo in 1990 to do the double at a European Championships.

Victory ended a four-year wait for the European 5,000m title, having missed out by 0.09 seconds to Spain's Jesus Espana – who was second Saturday – in Gothenburg.

"It just meant so much, I've worked so hard, I've spent so much time away from my family, up in the mountains training with the Kenyan guys," said Farah yesterday. "I just train with the guys and live a normal simple life where you go to a training camp and the boys are cooking in a little pot on an open fire. It's basic.

"Getting used to it, sharing a room with three guys, getting through training and eating when they eat, that isn't easy. But as an athlete you have to make a lot of sacrifices, spending time away from my family.

"You have to train with the best and the guys are really humble and easy-going. You're there to train, eat and sleep. There are no distractions, no watching TV, no going to the cinema or any other things. And Saturday night everything came together and at that point I thought 'oh my god, I've won this'. It didn't sink in."

Farah reckons he spends four to five weeks up to three times a year training at high altitude in Kenya.

"It is really hard, because you want to be around your family, you want to be there for your daughter, take her to school, come back and just live a normal life," he added. "But you can't do that if you want to mix it with these guys, the best guys in the world. You've got to make some sacrifices and that's what it takes. I think 'I'm going to work hard out here' because I'm away from my family and I'm going to make them proud, that's what keeps me going."

Farah admitted he could not imagine walking away with two golds when he collapsed after last December's European Cross-Country Championships. He required medical attention again when he finished third at the Great Edinburgh International Cross Country in January, subsequent tests revealing an iron and magnesium deficiency.

Those struggles, though, now seem a distant memory.

"You do have little doubts, that's when you need the right people behind you," he said. "Mentally you've got to be so strong."