FINALLY Andy Vernon will be able to let his feet do the talking in Rio in his debut Olympic Games.

Much of the attention the Fareham-born long-distance runner has received in recent years is for a bitter relationship with double Olympic champion Mo Farah.

An argument on Twitter was followed by accusations by Vernon that his non-selection for the World Championship last year was down to his former team-mate Farah, who also runs in the 5,000m and 10,000m competitions.

The feud made national news and came after Vernon claimed that the popular Farah, who is considered a national hero after his London 2012 performances, swore at him and refused to shake his hand at a track in Lausanne, which resulted in the war of words on social media.

The European 10,000m silver medallist will now be aiming to have his named plastered all over the press for a different reason this summer in Rio after sneaking into the athletics squad close to the selection deadline.

The 30-year-old, who competes domestically for Aldershot, Farnham & District AC, has been hampered by injuries since winning 10,000m silver and 5,000m bronze behind Farah at the Europeans in Zurich two years ago.

Before he was selected for the Olympics after proving his fitness at the European Championships in Holland recently, Vernon had raced just four times in ten months after a number of injury setbacks.

Vernon knew that he needed to prove his fitness to be picked for the Games, which he duly has to be picked alongside Farah and Ross Millington in the 10,000m team.

“[I’m] so happy to be able to say I'll be running in Olympics in 30 days time. Proof that perseverance, commitment and hard work does pay off,” Vernon wrote on Twitter after selection.

Now it will be up to Vernon that he will become best known for his on-track success rather than locking horns on the internet with his 10,000m rival Farah.

British Athletics’ performance director, Neil Black, believes that there will be no problems between the pair.

“They’re fine,” he said. “They’ve put their challenges behind them and have been a pleasure to work with over the past year or so. Both guys are focusing on Rio, focusing on competing and I don’t envisage any problems.”