• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Emotional Mo Farah Meets The 'Real' Mo Farah For The Very First Time

Home> Sport

Updated 13:06 13 Jul 2022 GMT+1Published 10:59 13 Jul 2022 GMT+1

Emotional Mo Farah Meets The 'Real' Mo Farah For The Very First Time

"I can't believe I'm speaking to you"

Daisy Phillipson

Daisy Phillipson

Sir Mo Farah spoke to the 'real' Mohammed Farah for the very first time in an emotional phone call. You can watch below:

In a new documentary by the BBC and Red Bull Studios, the four-time Olympic gold medalist speaks with the man whose name he adopted after being illegally trafficked to the UK when he was a young child.

Advert

While opening up about his tragic childhood, he reveals that his birth name is Hussein Abdi Kahin and that he was given the moniker by those that flew him over from Djibouti.

In a conversation with the man whose name he became famous with, Farah says: "I can't believe I'm speaking to you.

"I've carried your name for years, and I'm very proud of what I have achieved, but I always wondered, 'where is Mohamed, is he OK?' I think about it all the time."

The 39-year-old previously claimed that he had made the journey to the UK from Somalia with his parents as a refugee, but his parents had never been to the country.

Instead, as explored in The Real Mo Farah, he and his family had lived on a farm in the breakaway state of Somaliland, and his father had been killed in civil violence by stray gunfire when Farah was just four years old.

Advert

Sir Mo Farah opens up about his tragic childhood in the BBC documentary The Real Mo Farah.
BBC

In the documentary, he explains: "Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality.

"The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I’ve said in the past, my parents never lived in the UK.

"When I was four my dad was killed in the civil war, you know as a family we were 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."

Advert

He was given the name by a woman who took him from his family when he was around eight or nine years old, claiming she was sending him to live with relatives in Europe.

When they arrived at the flat in Britain, she destroyed the contact details of his relatives, and he was forced to carry out domestic housework and childcare in order to survive.

Farah says she blackmailed him into keeping quiet about the situation if he ever wanted to visit his family again.

The athlete eventually made it into school in Year 7 and his talents for running shone through in his PE classes.

Eventually he confided in his PE teacher, who swiftly contacted social services and found Farah a safe family to live with.

Advert

The athlete went on to become an Olympic hero.
Alamy

Living in a stable environment allowed him to flourish throughout his high school years, and he eventually became a British citizen in 2000.

"I still missed my real family, but from that moment everything got better," he says in the documentary.

"I felt like a lot of stuff was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like me. That's when Mo came out - the real Mo."

The Real Mo Farah airs on BBC One at 9pm tonight, 13 July, or you can watch it on BBC iPlayer now.

Featured Image Credit: BBC

Topics: Mo Farah, UK News, Sport

Daisy Phillipson
Daisy Phillipson

Daisy graduated from Kingston University with a degree in Magazine Journalism, writing a thesis on the move from print to digital publishing. Continuing this theme, she has written for a range of online publications including Digital Spy and Little White Lies, with a particular passion for TV and film. Contact her on [email protected]

X

@DaisyWebb77

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

7 days ago
12 days ago
13 days ago
  • 7 days ago

    Insane simulation shows speed comparison between Usain Bolt and the average human

    Good luck catching him

    News
  • 7 days ago

    Former Olympic Swimmer James Magnussen going for World Record at Enhanced Games on steroids 'feels 18 again'

    World Aquatics labelled the Enhanced Games a 'circus', but James Magnussen thinks it's an 'awesome opportunity'

    News
  • 12 days ago

    Michael Schumacher’s ex-F1 boss gives tragic insight into his health following ski accident

    Flavio Briatore remembers Schumacher a specific way

    News
  • 13 days ago

    Olivia Dunne explains why she unexpectedly dropped the splits in viral catwalk moment

    Gymnast Olivia Dunne did the splits during the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit runway show on Saturday (31 May)

    News
  • Man involved in play that led to death of hockey player after cut to throat speaks out for first time
  • HMP Wandsworth prison officer who was allegedly filmed having sex with inmate speaks out for the first time
  • People left stunned after watching scene from very first episode of Airline
  • British Dressage chief speaks out against ‘real reason’ whistleblower leaked Team GB horse video