Great Britain’s Mo Farah recovered from an early fall to successfully defend his 10,000m title in Rio at the Olympic Games.

Farah was hoping for a smooth race but he had to get back up from a fall after being tripped by training partner Galen Rupp.

He started at the back of the pack but when he tried to move forward he fell to the floor after clipping heels with Rupp.

Farah showed no signs of any injury and he moved into contention with three laps to go alongside six other competitors.

With 1,000m to go, Farah took command but Kenya’s Paul Tanui tried to unsettle him as he sprinted to the front with 300m to go.

However, Farah produced his trademark strong finish to become the first Briton to win three athletics track gold medals.

Speaking after the event, the 33-year-old admitted he was emotional but insists he felt confident throughout the entire race despite the tumble.

He told reporters: “When I went down it didn’t take a lot out of me and I got up quickly, I thought about how much I’d worked and I wasn’t going to let it affect me.

It’s hard mentally when you go down. “I got emotional because you put so much work in and in one moment it’s gone. That one moment could be it, I just had to get through it and believe in myself.

“I’d promised my older daughter Rihanna I was going to get a medal for her and in my mind I was thinking I can’t let her down.

The twins from 2012 have got one of each and Rihanna’s missing one so I thought, ‘I can’t, I can’t.”