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Great Britain's double Olympic champion produced his now customary devastating final lap to win a gold medal at the World Championships in Moscow last night, beating the Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan, who pipped him to the crown two years ago in Daegu.
Farah says he was spurred on by the fear of failure, admitting that the thought of seeing gold snatched from his grasp for a second time fired him to victory. The 30-year-old took the lead with two laps to go, having recovered from an apparent stumble.
He claimed victory in 27 minutes 21.71 seconds to kick-start Great Britain's medal charge on the opening night of competition.
Farah said: "It was very exciting. Two years ago almost exactly the same thing happened at this time. I knew Jeilan was capable, so it was just important I had something left. To be honest with you, with the last lap I could see he was there and I was thinking, 'God, I've got to make this lap worth it'. At 200m again I could see him trying down the right side. I was thinking on the home straight 'not again, not again, not again'.
"Two years ago Jeilan did wonderfully and ran a great race. But ever since then something has been missing and after London you just want to get that feeling again."
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Farah has honed his ferocious kick, helped by the sort of speed which saw him break the European 1500m record in Monaco last month, and his finishing speed was once again in evidence here.
A 54.49secs last lap saw off his rivals and Farah spread his arms wide as he crossed the line, even if the cheers from the disappointing crowd inside the Luzhniki Stadium was in stark contrast to the roar which urged him on last summer.
And he revealed the level of sacrifice it had taken to gain revenge, with his twin baby daughters, born shortly after the Olympics, viewing him as a "stranger". "I've been away from them so much, like four months at a time," he said. "Parents will understand that, but they don't recognise me. They see me as a stranger. Sometimes when you go home for three or four days it is hard."
Farah will be hoping to add a second gold in the 5,000m on Friday night
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In last night's race, the Kenyans and Ethiopians, assembled at the front, looked keen to work together to stop the favourite. Farah was the only Briton in the 32-strong field, but he had American training partners Galen Rupp, the silver medallist in London, and Dathan Ritzenhein alongside him and he took closer order with eight laps remaining.
There was a scare when he stumbled after an apparent clash of legs four laps from the end, but he managed to keep his feet - and his head.
Jeilan took the silver, 0.52secs behind Farah, with Kenya's Paul Kipngetich Tanui getting bronze, 0.90s behind the winner. Rupp was fourth.
Farah said: "I knew me and Galen were in great shape and our aim was to work together as much as we can and cover every move."
Farah completed his lap of honour draped in a Union flag, but the stadium was barely half full to watch it.
Ticket sales had been a concern ahead of the championships and, even with the cheapest tickets for today on sale for less than £2, there were plenty of empty red, orange and yellow seats.
And that was with the draw of Usain Bolt in the 100m heats and the opening ceremony.
Earlier in the evening, team captain Christine Ohuruogu looked in imperious form as she cruised to victory in her 400m heat in 50.20, while James Dasaolu, Dwain Chambers and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey all progressed to the 100m semi-finals.
Anguilla-born long jumper Shara Proctor demonstrated her credentials as a medal contender, needing just one jump of 6.85m to book her final place. But Lorraine Ugen fouled on all three attempts and went out.
Scot Susan Partridge defied sweltering conditions to come 10th in the marathon in 2:36.24, with team-mate Sonia Samuels 16th.
Andrew Osagie and Michael Rimmer made it safely through their heats of the 800m, while Eilish McColgan reached 3,000m steeplechase final
But Steve Lewis failed to record a height in the pole vault to go out and decathlete Ashley Bryant had to withdraw before the start of competition with a hamstring problem.