Key Points
- Sir Mo Farah says he was brought to the United Kingdom illegally as a child.
- He had previously said he came as a refugee.
Olympic distance runner Sir Mo Farah has revealed he was trafficked to the United Kingdom from Somaliland as a child.
Sir Mo, Britain's most successful track athlete, made the revelation in a new documentary by the BBC and Red Bull Studios.
He had previously said he came to the UK as a refugee from Somalia with his parents, but has now told the BBC he was born Hussein Abdi Kahin in Somaliland, a breakaway region in the north of Somalia which is not internationally recognised as independent.
“Most people know me as Mo Farah, but that's not my name … that’s not the reality," he said.
“Despite what I said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK."
Who is Sir Mo Farah?
Sir Mo is Britain's most successful track athlete, and was unbeaten in the 5000 and 10,000 metres at big events between 2012 and 2016.
Sir Mo won two golds at the London 2012 Olympics
He was knighted in 2017.
In a clip from the documentary, Sir Mo said he was four years old when his father was killed in a civil war, resulting in the family being "torn apart".
"I was separated from my mother and I was brought into the UK illegally under the name of another child, called Mohamed Farah," he said.
Sir Mohamed Farah grew up to become a star athlete after being illegally brought to the United Kingdom as a child. Credit: Getty
I had no idea there was so many people who are going through exactly the same thing that I did
After arriving in the United Kingdom, the BBC reported he then had to do housework and childcare "if I wanted food in my mouth".
He says the woman told him: "If you ever wanna see your family again, don't say anything."
Eventually, he enrolled in school and later applied for British citizenship with the assistance of a teacher. He was recognised as a British citizen in 2000.
'What really saved me ... was that I could run'
"I know I’ve taken someone else’s place and I do wonder, what is Mohamed doing now?"
Sir Mo told the BBC he wanted to tell his story to challenge public perceptions of trafficking and slavery.
"I had no idea there was so many people who are going through exactly the same thing that I did. It just shows how lucky I was," he said.
"What really saved me, what made me different, was that I could run."
Sir Mo, a father of four, said his children also motivated him to share his past.
"Family means everything to me and, you know, as a parent, you always teach your kids to be honest, but I feel like I've always had that private thing where I could never be me and tell what's really happened," he said.
"That's the main reason in telling my story because I want to feel normal and ... don't feel like you're holding on to something."
The documentary ends with Farah speaking to the real Mohamed Farah, adding he will continue to go by the name he was given when he entered the UK.
