David Moorcroft believes that Mo Farah will cement his status as the greatest runner of all time if he follows up his Olympic triumph in 2012 by claiming a Commonwealth Games double.

Farah, who claimed a long-distance double in London two years ago, is poised to participate in the the 5,000m and 10,000m events in Glasgow this summer.

The 31-year-old has seen his preparations for the Games blighted by illness and injury, but Moorcroft, a 1978 Commonwealth champion, hopes that Farah can go on to achieve an "astonishing" feat.

"They could be his two toughest races for many years in Glasgow, but he's already a legend," he told the Daily Record.

"If he was able to do the double, which is really hard because of the Kenyans and other Africans, in the four years between 2010 and 2014 he'll have done something that no other athlete has ever done and probably no other will ever do – hold double gold at Commonwealth, European, world and Olympic level.

"That is staggering, almost unbelievable and to do that within a four-year period when he's gone from being a really talented athlete to dominating the world is truly astonishing."

The opening ceremony of the Games begins tonight at 8pm.