Rio 2016: Mo Farah qualifies for 5,000m final to keep hopes of fourth Olympic title alive

Farah is bidding to become only the second man, after 'Flying Finn' Lasse Viren, to complete the long-distance double at two Games

Mo Farah will hope to secure an Olympic double-double in the 5,000m final (Getty)

Mo Farah has qualified for the final of the 5,000m in Rio, keeping his hopes of winning a fourth Olympic title alive.

The 33-year-old Londoner has succeeded in the past four gtitles over 5,000m and remains the favourite to win a second gold in Rio after winning the 10,000m already.

He told BBC Sport: "I got clipped, had to stay on my feet and stay strong. It's hot, hard work. You have to get through, see how it goes."

Farah is bidding to become only the second man, after 'Flying Finn' Lasse Viren, to complete the long-distance double at two Games.

He had stated ahead of this race that his recovery from the 10,000m was getting hard the older he got and he expected his Ethiopian rivals to try and break him over the shorter distance.

He did the bare minimum and no more on Wednesday morning to book his spot in Saturday night's medal race.

On his recovery from the 10,000m, in which he defied a fall to win gold, he added: "Not as well as I wanted, but I have to have more rest now, put my feet up, chill in my room."

Additional reporting by PA.