Vote For Mo

21 DEC2011

While there has been much controversy - and perhaps justifiably so- concerning the absence of women in this year's BBC Sports Personality of the Year, Mo Farah's inclusion and place within the top ten athletes of this year should not be overshadowed.

Farah's exceptionally productive and prolific 2011 is best encapsulated by overcoming agonising defeat in the 10k at the World Championships to securing gold at the 5k event.

Superlatives such as determination and courage are branded about freely with reference to sporting feats, yet Farah's victory in the 5k in Daegu can be defined with no other characteristics and will surely be regarded as one of the highlights of 2011.

It would be easy to provide a synopsis of Mo Farah's achievements of 2011 - gold in the European indoor championships, victory in the New York half, not to mention picking up the Athlete of the Year - yet, as the name suggests, it is not merely accolades that warrant the title of Sports Personality of the Year.

Farah's work throughout the year with Alberto Salazar in Oregon has pushed the athlete to the pinnacle of a field that is arguably at its most competitive. The move showed not just an unwavering commitment, but a sacrifice to push himself to an almost unimaginable level of performance.

Unsurprisingly, Farah gets a unanimous vote from everyone at the scottishrunningguide.com office. Our only bone of contention is with the exclusion of Chrissie Wellington from the top ten candidates. If there is any dubiety as to why you should vote for Farah on Thursday's show, have a look this clip.