Who is Sir Mo Farah? Olympic gold medallist and national treasure
SIR MO Farah is a long-distance running legend and Team GB Olympic hero.
Here we take a look at the much-loved athlete‘s life and career.
Getty Farah is famed for his ‘Mobot’ celebration[/caption]
Who is Mo Farah?
Sir Mo Farah was born in Mogadishu, Somalia on March 23, 1983.
He spent the early years of his childhood in neighbouring Djibouti with his twin brother.
His birth name was Hussein Abdi Kahin, and he was trafficked from Djibouti to London under the name Mohamed Farah — which he adopted as his own when he became a British citizen.
When Farah came to the UK, he barely spoke a word of English and worked as a house servant.
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“Often I would just lock myself in the bathroom and cry,” he said.
His father was killed in the civil war in Somaliland, and his mother has never been to Britain before.
Farah was identified for his athleticism at secondary school in Feltham and says his dream was to become either a mechanic or an Arsenal winger, but instead went on to become an Olympic hero.
Is Mo Farah married and does he have children?
In 2010, Farah married longtime girlfriend Tania in Richmond.
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They have four children — Farah’s stepdaughter Rhianna, twins Amani and Aisha and son Hussein Mo Farah.
Sir Mo Farah pictured ahead of the 2019 London MarathonReuters
What are Mo Farah’s biggest achievements?
Farah has four Olympic gold medals.
In Rio de Janeiro 2016, he achieved the double-double by winning the 5,000m and 10,000m races, just as he had done in London 2012.
He has also won gold medals at the World Championships in the 5,000m in 2011, 2013 and 2015, as well as gold in the 10,000m in 2013, 2015 and 2017.
He got the silver in the 10,000 in 2011 and was runner-up in London in the 5,000 metres in 2017.
Farah also won gold at the European Championship in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metre races in 2010 and 2014, after winning silver in the 5k in 2006.
On August 24, 2017, Farah retired from the track and said he would focus on marathons.
He has five consecutive half-marathon wins in the Great North Run from 2014-2019 and came third in the London Marathon in 2018.
Farah won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year in 2017.
In October 2018, Mo won a marathon for the first time in only his third competitive race.
He won in Chicago in a European record of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 11 seconds.
However in November 2019, he announced his return to the track to defend his 10k title at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, but failed to qualify for the event.
In September 2023, Farah retired from competition, signing off with a final appearance at the Great North Run, where he finished in fourth place.
Mo was knighted in 2017 — seen here with his wife TaniaPA:Press Association
What is Mo Farah’s net worth?
Farah reportedly has a net worth of approximately £4million.
In 2013, he was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours list for services to athletics.
He was knighted by the late Queen in the 2017 New Year Honours.
When will Mo Farah be a guest on Comic Relief 2024?
Farah is appearing on Comic Relief: Funny for Money on Friday March 15, 2024.
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The show airs live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer between 7pm and 10pm, when it switches over to BBC Two.
The broadcast will then return to BBC One at 10.40pm to pay tribute to Comic Relief co-founder Sir Lenny Henry — who is making his final appearance as a host after 39 years of money-raising for the charity.
