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Fabian Roncero claims Mo Farah's European half-marathon record shouldn't stand

Spain's Fabian Roncero believes that Mo Farah's new European half-marathon record should not stand because he was born in Somalia.

Fabian Roncero has claimed that Mo Farah's new half-marathon record should not stand because he is not European.

Farah, who represents Great Britain, took the record off Spain's Roncero by finishing the Lisbon 13.1-mile race in 59 minutes and 32 seconds at the weekend.

Roncero believes that Farah's other records, including the 1500m, should be scrapped because he was born in Somalia.

"Although the official lists say that Mo Farah now holds the half-marathon record, for me the 800m European record holder remains Sebastian Coe, the 1500m Fermin Cacho, the 5,000m Dieter Baumann and 10,000m Antonio Pinto," Roncero told Marca.

"For me, an athlete who was born in Kenya is Kenyan and one born in Somalia is Somali forever, and that is the opinion of the people with whom I speak. Besides, I am convinced that 95% of athletes still feel nationalised by their country of origin.

"I have nothing against Africans. On the contrary, I consider them superior to European runners but with respect to the records, I say what I feel and I will never lie."

Farah moved to Britain aged eight to join his father, who was born in the UK.

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Great Britain's Mohamed Farah celebrates after winning the Men's 5000m final during the European Athletics Championships at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich on August 17, 2014
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