LONDON: Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah has disclosed he was brought into Britain illegally from Djibouti under the name of another child.
“The truth is I’m not who you think I am,” the 39-year-old Farah told the BBC in a documentary called “The Real Mo Farah.”
Farah, who became the first British track and field athlete to win four Olympic golds, said his children have motivated him to be truthful about his past.
“The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin,” he told the BBC. “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.”
During the documentary, Farah said he thought he was going to Europe to live with relatives and recalled going through a British passport check under the guise of Mohamed at the age of nine after traveling with a woman he didn’t previously know.
“I had all the contact details for my relative and once we got to her house, the lady took it off me and right in front of me ripped them up and put it in the bin and at that moment I knew I was in trouble,” he said.
The athlete traveled back to his childhood home in west London, recalling “not great memories” where he was not treated as part of the family.
Farah eventually told teacher Alan Watkinson the truth and moved to live with his friend’s mum who took care of him and he ended up staying for seven years.
It was Watkinson who applied for Farah’s British citizenship which he described as a “long process.” Farah was recognized as a British citizen in 2000.
Mo Farah says he was taken to UK using another child’s name
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Mo Farah says he was taken to UK using another child’s name
- “The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin”
Terrific Terrier backheel helps lift Leverkusen back to fourth
- The 2023-24 champions had lost their previous two Bundesliga matches and dropped to sixth
- Terrier’s no-look backheel and captain Robert Andrich’s header ensured Leverkusen will end the weekend in the Champions League places
BERLIN: A backheeled goal from Martin Terrier set Bayer Leverkusen on the way to a 2-0 win over derby rivals Cologne on Saturday, returning the hosts to fourth in the Bundesliga.
The 2023-24 champions had lost their previous two Bundesliga matches and dropped to sixth after Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt won earlier on Saturday.
But Terrier’s no-look backheel and captain Robert Andrich’s header ensured Leverkusen will end the weekend in the Champions League places.
“This win was a must,” sporting director Simon Rolfes told Sky Germany.
“When you lose two Bundesliga games in a row, you have to win the next one, not just because it’s the derby, but for the standings.”
The derby between the Rhine neighbors had an uneasy atmosphere. Hundreds of ultras from both sides boycotted the match, with a Cologne fan group complaining of “inappropriate” and “very intense” police checks, according to German sports magazine Kicker.
Just after halftime, Malik Tillman had a golden chance to put Leverkusen in front when one-on-one with Cologne goalkeeper Marvin Schwaebe but blasted over the bar.
The hosts broke through in spectacular fashion when Terrier somehow connected with a misplaced pass, looping it over the goalkeeper on 66 minutes.
Andrich’s header six minutes later gave Leverkusen breathing space.
- Frankfurt ‘lack freshness’ -
Earlier on Saturday, a brilliant solo goal from Ritsu Doan gave Frankfurt a hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Augsburg.
Victory moved Frankfurt, who have struggled to manage domestic and European commitments this season in just their second Champions League campaign, up to sixth.
“You can see we lack a bit of freshness,” Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoeller told reporters, adding: “The last six months have been very stressful.
“Today’s performance was one driven by great willpower.”
Augsburg had two strikes chalked off by VAR early against a shaky Frankfurt defense who had conceded 15 goals in their past five games.
Midway through the second-half, Japan international Doan weaved through four Augsburg defenders before hitting a deflected shot past Finn Dahmen.
Elsewhere, Hoffenheim stayed fifth thanks to a commanding 4-1 home win over Hamburg, their sixth victory in their past eight league games.
Grischa Proemel, Ozan Kabak, Tim Lemperle and Fisnik Asllani scored for Hoffenheim, while Hamburg’s Rayan Philippe notched a late consolation goal before missing a stoppage time penalty.
Christian Eriksen sparked Wolfsburg to a 3-1 win away at Borussia Moenchengladbach to continue the Wolves’ recent resurgence.
Dangling near the relegation spots for much of the season, Wolfsburg have claimed seven points in their last three matches to climb to 13th.
St. Pauli claimed a first win since September, 2-1 at home to Heidenheim despite going down to 10 men just before halftime.
