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.
I’ve also been the ambassador for the [UK charity] Youth Sport Trust, trying to tell the government through a campaign—60 Minutes A Day-Of PE, Sports And Play—to give the kids more time in sports. I’m an ambassador for Save The Children and spend time going to villages, helping with charity work and making kids understand how important education is.
Q. You’ve said in earlier interviews that one of the key turning points in your career was rooming with some Kenyan runners during your university days. What happened?
At that age, I had the natural talent, but didn’t quite understand how I could use that talent. Leading the Uni life, I didn’t quite understand that you need to run more, you need to eat healthy, you need to listen to your body. My agent asked me to train with these guys. When I lived with them, I realised they don’t have a social life, they don’t do anything else. All they do is eat, sleep and train. So I would ask myself how am I going to have any chance of being as good as them? And then I actually made those changes and adapted into a new routine. I spent a lot of time in Kenya as well training with them. That was a wake-up call really, as well as understanding myself as an athlete that what you have to do to achieve great things.
Q. Is that where your Olympic dream was kindled?
My dream was always there. I remember watching the Sydney Olympics [in 2000], where [Kenyan] Paul Tergat lost the 10,000m gold by 0.9 seconds to Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia. I was at school and was watching that and telling myself I want to become the Olympic champion. That was the ‘Olympic dream’ moment for me. It’s just that I didn’t understand how you trained to become the Olympic champion. Living with the Kenyans taught me that. The medals didn’t come to me overnight, I had to be patient, I had to get resilient, I had to learn from my mistakes.
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Q. Is it because of this focus that you went straight to training from your honeymoon?
I’ll tell you the story [laughs]. We got married in 2010 and we went on our honeymoon in Zanzibar. And then Eyjafjallajökull happened in Iceland. Volcanic ash was spewed all over and flights were disrupted. We were stuck in Nairobi for 10 days, and I was going, “I have a race coming up in three months, what do I do?” So, I told my wife that I had left my training kit in Rift Valley in Kenya, and I needed to go. I left her in Nairobi and told her to get on the flight to London as soon as they were back on, and went to the camp myself. But that’s what you have to do sometimes—be selfish—if you want to be the best athlete.
Q. What did your wife tell you back then?
My wife and I went to the same school together, she understands what I need to do. She was okay with it, but we still talk about it to this day. But that’s what you had to do. Maybe I would never have become a four-time Olympic champion if I didn’t do these little things.
Q. Which of your four Olympic gold medals—two each in 5,000m and 10,000m—is the most favourite?
They all are, but if I had to pick one, I’ll probably say the 10,000m in London 2012 because that was history to win that first Olympic gold in front of my home crowd. Every athlete dreams of becoming an Olympic champion and, for me, to do it twice in front of my home crowd, 75,000 people cheering for me, Union Jacks all around…that would never happen again.
Q. But did the home support bring added pressure?
I see pressure as different—while it’s there, I can only do what I can do, no more no less. As long as I could run my own race, it’s okay. On the first night, when I was warming up at the training ground, I saw people cheering for me, taking pictures, and the ground was just getting more and more packed. And then when I walked into the stadium, there were Union Jacks everywhere and everyone went “Mo” (with a gasp)…it was amazing. You can turn that pressure into something positive—tell yourself that these people are here for me, this is my country, this is my moment.
Q. How did your trademark Mobot celebration come about?
It mostly happened in the moment. Although we did plan a few years before, when I was on a TV show in the UK hosted by James Corden, where they told me, “Mo, the Olympic Games are in two years. Usain Bolt has his trademark celebration, we need to come up with a one for you.” And then [broadcaster] Clare Balding and Corden told me why don’t you do the M and O from the song YMCA [by Village People]. The first race I did it, no one could figure it out. And then I did it in London 2012 and now everyone knows what it is.
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Q. In 2017, you already had your four Olympic medals, six World Championships, multiple European championship wins, but you decided to move on to marathons. At a time when you literally achieved everything that was there to achieve, where did you find the hunger and motivation to take up a new challenge?
The reason why I went to the marathon is because I had achieved everything on the track and sometimes, when you do that, it’s hard to motivate yourself. But you always need to stay motivated. So, I just wanted to try the marathon and see if I could be as successful as I was on the track. I really enjoyed the journey, but I probably found it a little harder than the track.
Q. But you’ve won a few marathons as well…
Yes, but you do two marathons a year and you can only compete every six months because your body takes long to recover from running 42K. Perhaps for me, I didn’t understand it as well as I did the 5,000m or the 10,000m. In the 5K or the 10K, you know what’s missing, you do a little bit of speed in the 10K to test yourself; in the marathon, no matter what you’ve got to wait for six months. Probably my good year was 2018 where I finished the London marathon third and then won Chicago, and then from there the body starts to slow down a little bit, you get a few injuries.
Q. I don’t know how far you are familiar with Indian track and field…
Yeah, I do. The javelin guy, yeah yeah…
Q. Yes, Neeraj Chopra has been there, recently Avinash Sable made it to the finals of the 3,000m steeplechase in Paris. What does India need to do to build on the gains?
I like what he’s doing, having seen Chopra in the Diamond League, in London. It just shows you it’s really important for the government and the sponsors to invest in youngsters, because they’re the ones that have the future. Give them the best facilities and training. And it takes time…it’s not going to happen overnight. For the next 5-10 years, if you can keep doing this, you’ll see the results. It’s like planting a tree…you’ve got to sow the seed, and water it, only then will a tree come out. Similarly, we have to keep reminding ourselves to invest in youngsters.
Q. Your life has been nothing short of spectacular. From Somalia to being trafficked to the UK, to being a sports legend. If you look back, what are the key highlights for you?
Don’t know where to start. My life has had so many sliding doors. If it wasn’t for the moment of meeting my PE teacher Alan Watkinson, I would never be here. I have said very openly in the BBC documentary The Real Mo Farah about how I was trafficked to the UK, but, at the same time, meeting the right people saved me. Watkinson supported me and took me to the local running club who chose me for running. It’s been an amazing journey for a young boy who arrived with nothing to being knighted by Her Majesty The Queen. If someone told me, I would’ve never believed this. And it just shows you anything can happen in life. You just have to keep going, even at times when people doubt you.
Q. Why did you wait until two years ago to come out with your life story and trafficking journey?
It was hard to [hide it] for 30 years. It wasn’t easy for me, but it was important for me to respect my family and understand. What really did it for me was my family, seeing my kids, particularly my son [the youngest] asking questions like ‘where’s grandma’. You can only say so much and it’s important for me to be honest with him, but I was also waiting for the right moment to ensure nothing got in the way of my career. So when I moved on as an athlete, and saw my kids asking more questions, they’re the one that got me through. Particularly my wife, who knew my story, has helped me. But even while making that documentary, I stopped three or four times in the middle of it because there were things that I didn’t want to know.