The Sport Matrix: Friday 19 April 2013

Farah 'hurt' by London Marathon greed claims

Mo Farah rejected allegations that cashing in on his Olympic success has become a motivating factor and insists he will respect the race when he makes his first appearance in the London Marathon on Sunday.

The day after arriving back in his home city from his US base in Oregon, Farah said being accused of becoming focused on the financial rewards that have followed his gold medals for the 5,000m and 10,000m at the London Games have "hurt" him.

"When you become Olympic champion, yes there are rewards," Farah, above, said. "But for someone to say 'he's only doing it for those rewards'... every race I do, am I only doing it for rewards? I'm here to do well."

Farah denied he is running because of the appearance fee he will receive for completing half the race on Sunday – he will drop out after 13 miles – and then making his full marathon debut here in 2014. The Briton will earn a six-figure fee for both races.

"This race is in my heart, I'm here to learn about the course, learn about everything else, use it as a learning curve, and get ready for next year," he added. MORE

Wenger: Arsenal are tougher now

Arséne Wenger has promised his Arsenal side will not be out-muscled as they push for Champions League qualification. The manager said his current side benefited from experience. "We were [vulnerable] for a while because we were very, very young," he said. MORE

Terry: Rodgers was brilliant for me

John Terry has hailed the impact Brendan Rodgers had on him when the Liverpool manager was a coach at Chelsea. "He is a great manager and was brilliant for me. I can only speak highly of him," said the Chelsea captain, whose side play at Anfield on Sunday. MORE

Murray loses big in Monte Carlo

Andy Murray suffered his heaviest defeat for three years when he was beaten 6-1, 6-2 by Stanislas Wawrinka in the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters. The result means he will drop to world No 3 behind Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on Monday. MORE

Opinion: Rooney's future

Wayne Rooney's form has dipped and he seems a phantom of the player he was in his early 20s. i's Kevin Garside assesses what the future holds for the forward at Manchester United. MORE

Hoy applies brakes to golden career

Sir Chris Hoy made an emotional farewell to competitive cycling having exhausted "every last ounce of effort and energy" winning at last year's Olympic Games. Hoy has decided not to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. "I know it's the right decision," he said. MORE

Adebayor reveals City's weakness

Emmanuel Adebayor believes Tottenham can take advantage of his old club Manchester City's tendency for in-fighting when the teams play at White Hart Lane on Sunday, saying that is how Spurs "can take them down". MORE

Bahrain GP official fumes at 'terrorists'

The chairman of the Bahrain circuit has branded protesters against this weekend's grand prix "terrorists". Zayed R Alzayani said: "I am totally against violence. No matter what cause you have. That is not democracy, that is terrorism." MORE

Smith's Surrey bow ends after two runs

The South African Graeme Smith made his debut with the bat for Surrey, only to be caught by James Hildreth for two. His innings summed up a disappointing day for Surrey, as they neded the second day against Somerset on 98 for 4. MORE

Lions worry for McGeechan

Former Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan believes the busy domestic league schedule could wreck the Lions' chances on tour. McGeechan suggested the schedule means current coach Warren Gatland "has one hand tied behind his back". MORE

McCoy taken to hospital after fall

Tony McCoy was carried off the course at Cheltenham yesterday after a hurdles fall and taken to hospital with chest injuries. But officials stressed that the jockey remained conscious and had movement in all his limbs.