As for the 69-year old Saleh himself, a combination of factors probably led him to choose this moment to sign away his powers.

CNN: Yemen after Saleh: Still a treacherous road

Farah led a breakaway but Lebid went with him and edged away near the end to finish eight seconds ahead of the Briton in 30 minutes, 49 seconds.

BBC: Farah misses out on European gold