London 2012 Olympics, Day 15: Mo Farah's double gold raises the roof at Olympic Stadium The historical significance was too much for the man of the hour to absorb. Overwhelmed by the volume of the partisan clamour, which he described as a "Mexican wave of sound," he headed to the stands to give a calming kiss to his wife Tania, who was expecting twins. Aptly, he dedicated this unforgettable moment to his unborn baby girls. While our abiding memories of the night are of the Farah celebrations, slapping his head in trademark "Mo-bot" style before planting a kiss on the London track, it pays not to forget just how fiercely fought the race itself was. A highly tactical affair at the outset, as Farah's Ethiopian, Kenyan and American rivals all jostled to unsettle him, its drama was only detonated in the final mile. Farah, exactly as he had in the 10,000m, assumed control, moving on to the shoulder of the leading pack and taking up the running with 700m to go. Confident in his finishing pace, which he had honed so meticulously under coach Alberto Salazar at his Oregon training base, he threw down the challenge for his adversaries to come past him and for the second time in a week they could not respond. Steve Cram, who called these last two laps home so memorably for the millions of television viewers, did not understate the difficulty of Farah's task. "I enjoyed Mo's 5,000 victory even more than I did his 10,000, and that was brilliant enough," he said. With the 10,000 it was almost like waiting for the inevitable to happen. The five was a much tougher ask. We simply had no idea how Mo would react to doubling up. Would the fact that he had already won take away his drive or would he want more? This was a harder race to win, and there was more tension, because it could have gone in so many different ways. With two laps to go, there were four or five guys in with a good chance, and I had no idea how it would pan out. So for Mo to deliver in those circumstances, against that field, was incredible. Farah himself had admitted to fatigue from his exertions over 10,000m, sparking concerns that he might not be able to produce his customary kick down the finishing stretch again. And yet in the course of 13 minutes and 41 seconds that combined patience, ruthlessness and unanswerable turn of speed, his iconic status was assured. The nation embraced him unconditionally for his single-mindedness and his slightly zany charm. A Somali by birth but a Londoner since he was eight years old, Farah also became a powerful emblem of the capital's diversity. Indeed, as the figure known henceforth simply as "Mo" soaked up the ovation of the stadium's 80,000 souls, his eldest brother, Faisal, had walked four miles from his Somaliland homestead, just to reach the nearest village with electricity so he could watch the race on television. Extraordinarily, even in the afterglow of Farah's exploits, the night was not finished. Usain Bolt, the only athlete who could rival him for star wattage after a second successive Olympic sprint double, was required to bookend the track and field programme with one last flourish and duly did so, leading his Jamaican quartet home in the 4x100m in a world record of 36.84 sec. On a day of heightened emotion all around, other stories of great pathos were unfolding. At the Aquatics Centre, Tom Daley, 14 months after losing father Rob to brain cancer, grasped a hugely creditable bronze medal in the 10m platform competition. The 18 year-old had long been the cherubic face of British diving but never had he exhibited courage such as this, sealing his medal with a concluding back three-and-a-half of virtual perfection. "After that last dive I felt like I could just do a dolphin kick straight out of the water," said Daley, whose euphoria was tempered by the memories of his father, who had been ever-present at poolside throughout his precocious development. It is about time my family had some good news. Although this is a bronze, for me it is a gold. I really wish my dad had been there to see that performance, because we had such a long, tough journey together. Back at the epicentre, in the Olympic Stadium, night had long since fallen and still the Farah fervour would not relent. "We want Mo!" the crowd cried as they waited for his gold medal presentation. Amid the din, TV presenter Ben Shephard astutely spotted the ultimate photo opportunity. Beckoning Farah and Bolt to mount the rostrum once more, he and the thousands privileged to be there watched as the pair struck a defining pose: the lanky sprinter attempting the Mo-bot, and the slender distance man at his side replying in kind with the famous "Lightning Bolt" gesture. Two totems of the Olympic track. Bolt might have enraptured the masses with his records and effortless charisma, but another Saturday night special from Farah ensured this corner of East London would remain forever Mo-town. The Mobot? Looks good on me. I might just take it. Usain Bolt appropriates Mo Farah's trademark celebration after winning his third gold medal in the 4x100m relay Ed McKeever Canoeing, men's K1 200m Mo Farah Athletics, men's 5,000m, Luke Campbell Boxing, men's bantamweight Liam Heath, Jon Schofield Canoeing, men's K2 200m. Tom Daley Diving, men's 10m platform