MO FARAH recovered from a last-lap trip yesterday to keep his tilt at another long-distance double alive.

Three days on from taking the 10,000 metres crown, the 32-year-old began his bid to retain the world 5,000m title at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing.

Like Sunday, though, there was a heart-in-mouth moment as Farah almost hit the deck after a tangle in legs around the final bend, only to regain his balance and finish in 13 minutes 19.44 seconds.

It was enough to see the Briton qualify behind Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha, keeping his hopes alive of a record-breaking third successive long-distance double at major global championships.

“I nearly went down — again,” Farah said. “I hope it doesn’t become third time bad luck.

“Somebody caught my leg. I’ve got a long stride, it’s the way I run.

“I don’t blame anyone, but even in training sometimes my training partners catch my leg which is why I sometimes have to be on the front or the back, or stay on the outside.

“I felt all right, I felt good. I have to recover now and get ready.

“It’s been an amazing team spirit, incredible. It brings back (memories of) ‘Super Saturday’ with myself, Jess [Ennis-Hill] and Greg [Rutherford].”

British teammate Tom Farrell and American training partner Galen Rupp will join Farah on Sunday.