Mo Farah revelled in the rapturous reception he received from the Olympic Stadium crowd as he won his first race in Great Britain since the doping allegations engulfing his coach surfaced in imperious fashion.
The double Olympic champion, back at the venue where he claimed his most famous victories, was cheered to the rafters from the moment he took to the track for the 3,000 metres to crossing the line in seven minutes 34.66 seconds.
The 32-year-old hit the front with two-and-a-half laps to go before striding away down the home straight to claim a commanding triumph at the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games.
The Londoner's time was the fastest in the world this year and another confidence boost as he builds up to the defence of his 5,000 and 10,000m titles at the World Championships in Beijing next month.
Any doubts there may have been about the reception he might receive given the accusations against his coach Alberto Salazar were dispelled the moment he appeared on the big screen for a pre-race interview.
And when race time came the roars which fired him to double gold three summers ago were back.
"It was amazing to get the support I got tonight, it was incredible, it just reminded me of 2012," he said.
"I am just very excited to be back at the stadium and competing at the stadium which changed my life.
"The crowd gave me great support tonight and I just want to thank the people who gave me the support.
"For me I love what I do and I enjoy what I do. You can only do what you do best. I'm not a politician, Mo Farah just runs."
Farah has come in for heavy scrutiny after it was alleged Salazar, head coach at the Nike Oregon Project in Portland, had violated anti-doping rules.
The Briton has not been accused of any wrong-doing, while Salazar himself has strongly denied the allegations.
Farah is standing by Salazar, whom he has worked with since 2011 and who helped transform him from a European champion to the global king of distance running.
His performances have appeared unaffected by the allegations, with strong showings in his three outings - in Lausanne, Monaco and now London - since they came to light.
But he did admit he was not sure about the reception he might receive on his first race back in Britain.
"You never know, people look up to you, so sometimes you don't know how they might react, but at the same time I got great support tonight," he said.
"I am motivated even more to go out there in Beijing and hopefully defend both of my titles."
Farah confirmed Salazar was not in attendance as he secured victory on Friday - a performance which saw Usain Bolt break off from his media duties to applaud.
"I will keep doing what I am doing, enjoy what I am doing and keep smiling," Farah said.
His commitment means that Farah will not see daughters Aisha and Amani until after he runs in Beijing, although he paid them a visit in the US before competing in London.
He added: "I go training tomorrow so I won't see the family until after the championships.
"It was good to see the twins and one of them was really disappointed because I dropped her off at school and her mum picked her up and she was like 'Where is Daddy?' and I was on a plane and she was so angry."
Farah certainly seems to be stepping up his game with Beijing fast approaching, with the 3,000m victory following last week's fourth-place finish over half that distance in Monaco.
"I was a little bit tired after Monaco," he said. "I went back home to my daughters for her birthday, so I went back to the States from Monaco.
"It's important for me because family means everything and we had a good party for her and then I came back so I was kind of like a bit tired."
