IT wasn't quite 'Super Saturday', but it was still the perfect way for Mo Farah to round off his spectacular season in style.

With more than 20,000 supporters roaring him around a street circuit on the banks of the River Tyne, Farah claimed victory in the two-mile invitational at the Great North City Games.

The double Olympic champion had to dig deep to see off Australian Collis Birmingham, who had pushed things along at a breakneck pace before Farah burst past him on the Swing Bridge with around 200m to go.

But as he produced his trademark Mobot celebration at the finish line, Farah could reflect on a fitting end to a two-month period that has changed his life forever.

“What a way to end the year,” said Farah, who became the first Briton to complete the 5,000m and 10,000m double when he triumphed on successive weekends at the London Games. “It's great to end with a win, you can't get any better than that. There were a lot of people here, a really enthusiastic home crowd, and it was brilliant.

“I could easily have decided to take my break early when I decided not to do the half marathon. But no, I love this crowd and I love running around the Quayside here. I've been coming here in the last few years and got some good wins. I wanted to come back here and I knew I could do enough training for two miles.”

Nevertheless, there was a moment at the halfway point of Saturday's race, with Farah trailing Birmingham by around five metres, when it would have been easy for him to give up the ghost.

No one would have blamed him given his interrupted training schedule following the birth of his twin daughters, Aisha and Amani, just three weeks ago and the relative unimportance of the City Games in comparison to everything else that has taken place this summer.

But you don't become a double Olympic champion without a strong competitive streak, and with thousands of North-Easterners having turned out specifically to see him run, Farah was not about to disappoint.

“I want to win every race I go in to, and I wanted to keep that going through the whole year,” he said. “I started off having good races and was able to continue that, and becoming double Olympic champion gives you great confidence.

“At the same time, there are thousands of people here wanting to support you who have come out especially to see us all perform. They could have done anything, but they came down here, brought their kids, and hopefully enjoyed watching me run.

“It was important that I kept going, and I motivated myself by thinking, 'I don't want to disappoint these people – I want to be able to give them something'. That's what kept me going as well.”

Farah's victory was the high point of the City Games schedule, although the most notable performance from a British competitor was probably Dwain Chambers' winning display in the 100m.

Chambers failed to make the Olympic final, but broke the meeting record as he ran 10.04s in front of the Baltic Art Gallery to underline his enduring talents.

The 34-year-old fought a lengthy court battle to secure a place at the Olympics, overturning a British Olympic Association ban that excluded him as a former drugs cheat, and while he admits the last 12 months have taken a lot out of him, he is determined to compete in next year's World Championships in Moscow.

“It's great to still be able to compete at this level,” he said. “I missed this environment because I threw it all away, and I'm really grateful to have it back.

“It's been very hard. It's one thing going through the whole pal-lava I had with my situation, but leading up to the Games and in the trials I was in no-man's land really. I didn't know what was going to happen, so the only thing I could rely on was my ability to run.

“Even that was going poorly. I was running 10.20s and was thinking, 'Have I lost it?' But I made it on to the team and as soon as I heard that crowd in the Olympic Stadium, I knew I'd be all right. I ran 10.02s and now I'm just looking forward to the European indoors and World Championships next year. Am I going to keep going? Yes sir.”

Chambers' victory was insufficient to secure Great Britain a team success in the City Games, as the United States squad eventually ran out 6-3 winners.

Anyika Onuora broke the British record as she claimed victory in the women's 150m, but 110m hurdler Jason Richardson led an American victory charge that also featured successes for Wallace Spearmon, Bernard Lagat, Brenda Martinez, Jeneba Tarmoh and Mary Saxer.