The British running legend on his rise from a trafficked Somali kid, how Neeraj Chopra has caught his eye, and the highs of being double Olympic champion in front of a home crowd
Image: Mo Farah strikes the Mobot, his trademark celebratory pose, after winning the 5,000m gold in the 2016 Rio Olympics. With four gold medals—in 5,000m and 10,000m in consecutive Olympics—Farah is considered to be one of the greatest distance runners.
Image: Jeremy Selwyn/Evening Standard via Getty Images
If there’s ever a fairytale life story, one doesn’t have to look far beyond Sir Mo Farah’s. Born in Somalia, christened Hussein Abdi Kahin, trafficked into the UK via Djibouti and initially forced into child labour, the British middle-distance runner now owns four Olympic gold medals, six World Championships and multiple European championship titles. He’s one among only two athletes to have achieved consecutive Olympic long-distance doubles (winning the 5,000m and 10,000m)—in London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Considered one of the greatest athletes of all time, and knighted in 2017, the only people he hasn’t been able to convince of his achievements are his four kids, says Farah. “Every time, people come up to me for autographs and photographs and I tell them ‘see that?’, they’ll just shrug,” the 41-year-old grins. His youngest, he adds, occasionally emulates his trademark ‘Mobot’ celebration (hands folded over his head to resemble an M) during his soccer games, “but he’d rather do Cristiano Ronaldo’s, though”.
In Mumbai as the international ambassador for the 20th edition of the Tata Mumbai Marathon, Farah spoke to Forbes India about winning the Olympics at home in 2012, how Neeraj Chopra’s exploits have caught his eye, and why he hid his trafficking history till 2022. Edited excerpts:
Q. You retired last year after a stupendous career. How is retirement treating you?
In life, we have goals, ambitions, and my dream was always to run for my country and win medals and make history. When you achieve all that, it’s important for you to move on and start something that you know you can still enjoy. Which is the reason why I'm here as the ambassador for the Tata Mumbai Marathon. I’m here to share my stories, what I’ve gone through and also changes that are happening. It's important for us to see, as we are celebrating the 20th edition, where the changes began and are still continuing, but also show people what we can overcome.