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Mohamed "Mo" Farah, CBE (born 23 March 1983) is a Somali-born British long-distance and middle-distance runner. He is the current Olympic, World and European champion in the 5000 metres to 10,000 metres.[1] On the track, he generally competes over 5000 m and 10,000 m, but also runs the 3000 metres and occasionally the 1500 metres. He made his marathon debut in 2014 in London,[2] placing eighth, and setting a new English record of 2 hours, 8 minutes, 21 seconds.
Farah is the European record holder for the 1500 m, 10,000 m and two miles, the British indoor record in the 3000 m, the British record holder for the 5000 m and half marathon, and the European indoor record holder for 5000 m. In July 2010, he won Britain's first-ever men's European Championships gold medal at 10,000 m.[3] Farah followed this with a gold in the 5000 m, becoming the first British man to do so.[4] At the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, he won silver in the 10,000 m and gold in the 5000 m.[5] He became double Olympic champion at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, taking gold in both the 5000 and 10,000 metres. He repeated that double at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, becoming only the second man in history to win a double victory in both the Olympics and World Championships in the distance events.[6]
In addition, Farah competes in cross-country running, where in December 2006 he became European champion in Italy.[7] He also took gold in the 3000 m in both the 2009 and 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships, in Turin and Paris, respectively.
Farah was originally based in London and ran for Newham and Essex Beagles athletics club, training at St Mary's University College, Twickenham's sports facilities in Strawberry Hill from 2001 to 2011. In 2011, he relocated some of his training sessions to Portland, Oregon, United States, in order to further his training with coach Alberto Salazar.[8] His running style has been described as "bouncy" and tactical,[9][10] which he has attempted to alter for a more efficient and energy-saving stride pattern, especially in the longer distances.[11] In September 2014 Mo Farah competed in the Great North Run, a half marathon, and won the race.
Farah has won various accolades for his athletic achievements. In 2011, he was voted European Athlete of the Year,[12] and won the prize again in 2012.[13] Farah was also appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to athletics.[14][15] In 2013 he won the British Athletics Writers Association British Athlete of the Year award for the fifth time, more than any other athlete in history.[16] His five global titles are two more than any other British athlete.[17] He's also the first British athlete to win two gold medals at the same world athletics championships.[18] He has won five gold medals at the European Athletics Championships, making him the most successful individual athlete in the history of the competition.[19]
Farah was born on 23 March 1983 in Mogadishu, Somalia.[20] He hails from the Isaaq clan and his full name is Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah.[21] He spent the early years of his childhood in Djibouti with his twin brother.[22] He later moved to Britain at the age of eight to join his father, speaking barely a word of English.[22][23] His dad, Mukhtar Farah, is an IT consultant and a British citizen, who was born in London, England and grew up in Hounslow.[24][25][26] Mohamed's parents had met during a holiday.[26]
Farah attended Feltham Community College in London. His athletic talent was first identified by physical education teacher Alan Watkinson,[27] who later said of Farah: "When I first met him, he was struggling academically and suffering from the language barrier. He needed focus and I sort of took him under my wing. His passion was football but it was his turn of speed on the pitch that showed his real talent." Farah's ambition was to become a car mechanic or play as a right winger for Arsenal football club.[28] He later joined the Borough of Hounslow Athletics Club in west London.[29]
Farah represented Hounslow at cross-country in the London Youth Games.[30] In 1996, at the age of 13, he entered the English schools cross-country and finished ninth. The following year he won the first of five English school titles.[27]
Farah's first major title was at 5000 metres at the European Athletics Junior Championship in 2001,[31] the same year that he began training at St Mary's University College, Twickenham. That year Farah became one of the first two athletes in the newly formed Endurance Performance Centre at St Mary’s. He lived and trained at the College, and took some modules in an access course before becoming a full-time athlete as his career progressed.
In 2005, Farah moved in with Australian Craig Mottram and a group of Kenyan runners that included 10,000 metres world number one Micah Kogo. "They sleep, eat, train and rest, that's all they do but as an athlete you have to do all those things. Running with Craig made me feel more positive," Farah said. "If I ever want to be as good as these athletes I've got to work harder. I don't just want to be British number one, I want to be up there with the best."[27]
In July 2006, Farah clocked a time of 13 minutes 9.40 seconds for 5000 m to become Britain's second-fastest runner after Dave Moorcroft. A month later Farah collected the silver medal in the European Championship 5000 m in Gothenburg. Coaches Alan Storey and Mark Rowland made sure that Farah remained competitive and a few words from Paula Radcliffe before the 5000 m final inspired Farah. He has stated that: "She said to me, 'Go out and be brave. Just believe in yourself'."[27] In December 2006, Farah won the 2006 European Cross Country Championships in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy.[7]
Farah represented the UK at 5000 m in the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan. Farah finished sixth in a time of 13:47.54.[32]
In May 2008, Farah ran 10,000 m events, claiming the fastest UK men's time for almost eight years. However, he was knocked out before the 5000m final at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
In January 2009, Farah set a new British indoor record in the 3000 metres, breaking John Mayock's record with a time of 7 minutes 40.99 seconds in Glasgow.[33] A few weeks later he broke his own record by more than six seconds with a time of 7 minutes 34.47 at the UK Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham,[34] a performance which commentator Steve Cram called "the best performance by a male British distance runner for a generation".[35] Farah attributed his good form to a spell of winter training at altitude in Ethiopia and Kenya.[36] In March 2009 he took gold in the 3000 m at the European Indoor Championships in Turin, recording a time of 7 minutes 40.17.[37]
Farah competed at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics: he was in the leading pack early on in the 5000 metres race and eventually finished seventh – the best by a European runner. After the championships, he scored a victory in his first road competition over 10 miles, winning the Great South Run in 46:25 to become the third fastest Briton in spite of strong winds.[38]
Farah was one of the favourites to upset Serhiy Lebid's dominance at the 2009 European Cross Country Championships.[39] However, Lebid was never in contention as Farah and Alemayehu Bezabeh were some distance ahead throughout the run. Farah was overtaken by Bezabeh in the latter stages of the race, leaving the Briton with a second consecutive silver medal at the competition.[40] He did not manage to attend the medal ceremony, however, as he collapsed immediately after the race and needed medical attention.[41] After a close third place behind Edwin Soi at the BOclassic,[42] Farah competed in the short course race at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country. He was the favourite to win and surged ahead to build a comfortable lead. However, he appeared tired in the latter stages and finished third behind British runners Ricky Stevenson and Steve Vernon. Farah again required post-race medical attention and subsequent tests revealed he had low levels of iron and magnesium. He was prescribed supplements for the condition and his high altitude training plans in Kenya were unaffected.[43]
Farah won the 2010 London 10,000 in late May in a time of 27:44, in the process beating 10K world record holder Micah Kogo.[44] His success continued the following week at the European Cup 10,000 m. There, he improved his track best by nearly 16 seconds, finishing in a time of 27:28.86. Farah won by a margin of over forty seconds ahead of second placed Abdellatif Meftah.[45] After training in Africa, he returned to Europe for the 2010 European Athletics Championships. He took the 10,000 metres gold medal, overtaking Ayad Lamdassem with two laps to go and finishing the race unpressured in a time of 28:24.99. This was Farah's first major title and also the first European gold medal in the event for Great Britain.[46] He then went on to win the 5000 m from Jesus Espana, becoming only the fifth man in the 66-year history of the European Championships to achieve the 5000 m/10,000 m double, and the first for 20 years, following in the footsteps of the Czech Emil Zatopek in 1950, Zdzislaw Krzyszkowiak of Poland in 1958, Finland’s Juha Vaatainen in 1971 and Salvatore Antibo, of Italy, in 1990.[4][47]
On 19 August 2010, at a Diamond League meeting in Zürich, Farah ran 5000 m in 12:57.94, breaking David Moorcroft's long-standing British record and becoming the first ever British athlete to run under 13 minutes.[48]
In December 2010, Farah was named track-and-field athlete of the year by the British Olympic Association.[49] He closed the year at the BOclassic and just missed out on the 10 kilometre title, losing to Imane Merga in a sprint finish by 0.2 seconds.[50]
2011 was a successful year for Farah, beginning on 8 January at the Edinburgh Cross Country, where he defeated the top four finishers of that year's European Championships to take victory in the long race.[51]
In February 2011, Farah announced that he would be relocating to Portland, Oregon. The move would enable him at once to work with new coach Alberto Salazar, train alongside Galen Rupp, and escape the British tabloids.[52] On 19 February 2011 in Birmingham, England, Farah broke the European 5000 m indoor record with a time of 13:10.60, at the same time taking ten seconds off the 29-year-old British indoor record of Nick Rose.[53] On 5 March 2011, he won gold in the 3000 metres at the European Indoor Championships. On 20 March, Farah also won the NYC Half Marathon in a time of 1:00:23, a new British record.[54][55] He and training partner Galen Rupp had originally planned on running a 10,000 m race in New Zealand. However, after the race was cancelled due to the Christchurch earthquake and damage done to the track, they entered the half-marathon in New York.
On 3 June 2011, at a Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon, Farah won the Prefontaine Classic's 10,000 m event in 26:46.57, setting a new British and European record.[56] On 22 July 2011, at a Diamond League meeting in Monaco, he set a new British national record in the 5000 m with a time of 12:53.11.[57] Farah edged out American Bernard Lagat to win the race.[57]
In the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Farah made a major breakthrough on the world stage by taking the silver medal in the 10,000 m and then the gold in the 5000 m.[58] He became the first British man to win a global title over either distance.[59] Farah had in fact been more strongly favored to take the 10,000 m title, but was narrowly beaten in a last lap sprint by Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan. In the 5000 m, he overcame Lagat, beating him into second place. Following the race, Dave Moorcroft, former 5000 metres world record holder, hailed Farah as "the greatest male distance runner that Britain has ever seen".[60]
At the London 2012 Olympics, on 4 August, Farah won the 10,000 m gold in a time of 27:30.42. This was Great Britain's first Olympic gold medal in the 10,000 m, and came after two other gold medals for the country in the same athletics session.[61][62] His training partner, Galen Rupp of the United States, took second place. Both runners are coached by Alberto Salazar. Farah stated that he would observe his Ramadan fast later in the year.[63] On 11 August 2012, Farah made it a long-distance double, winning the 5000 metres in a time of 13:41.66.[64] He dedicated the two golds to his twin daughters.
On 23 August 2012, Farah returned to the track at a Diamond League meet in Birmingham, where he capped off a winning season with another victory over a distance of two miles .[65] The noise from the crowd in the 5,000 m race was so loud it made the camera shake and distorted the photo-finish image.[66]
On 19 July 2013, at the Herculis meeting in Monaco, Farah broke the European 1500 m record with a time of 3:28.81. The feat rendered him the sixth fastest man ever over the distance, overtaking Steve Cram's 28-year-old British record, and Fermín Cacho's 16 year old European record.[67] It also made Farah the seventh man, behind Saïd Aouita, Daniel Komen, Ali Saïdi-Sief, Hicham El Gerrouj, Augustine Kiprono Choge and Bernard Lagat to break both the 3:30 barrier in the 1500 metres and the 13-minute barrier in the 5000 metres. More remarkably, it made Farah the only athlete in history to run sub 3:30, sub 13-minute and sub 27-minute for 1500 metres, 5000 metres and 10,000 metres respectively.
The following month, Farah won the London Diamond League Anniversary Games' 3000 metres event in a time of seven minutes and 36.85 seconds.[68] He twice broke the national record in the half-marathon, first on 24 February in New Orleans, then broke his own record on 15 September in the Bupa Great North run.
On 10 August 2013, Farah held off a run by Ibrahim Jeilan to win the 10,000 m event at the World Championships in Moscow. The victory was his fourth global title.[1] On 16 August 2013, Farah won the 5,000 m event, in the process becoming double world and Olympic champion.[69] After this victory, BBC commentator Brendan Foster and Sebastian Coe called Farah 'Britain's greatest ever athlete'.[70]
In December 2013, Farah was the second favourite sportsperson behind Wimbledon tennis champion Andy Murray to become the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Asked what drives him to keep pushing back the boundaries of athletic accomplishment, he noted sprinter Usain Bolt's record breaking streak as a motivating example of what's possible for all dedicated athletes.[71]
Farah was a finalist for the 2013 IAAF World Athlete of the year award. In preparation for his marathon debut, he also extended his training schedule to 120 miles a week.[11]
Farah began 2014 preparing for the year's London Marathon, his first such run. He described running the event as a longstanding ambition of his, particularly to do so in London.[72] Farah finished in eighth place in a time of 2:08.21. This was outside Steve Jones' GB record, but set a new English national record.[73]
Farah was due to compete at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. However, he withdrew due to illness from a stomach ailment and an infection caused from having a tooth removed.[74] Farah later appeared in Zürich at the 2014 European Athletics Championships. He successfully defended his 5,000m title and won a gold in the 10,000m, thus completing another major championship double.[75]
On 7 September 2014, Farah competed in the Great North Run, a British half marathon. He won the race in a personal best time of 1:00:00, exactly 1 hour.[76]
Farah is noted for his unique victory celebration dance known as the "Mobot". He adopted the move following a television appearance in May 2012 opposite sports presenter Clare Balding on the panel game show A League of Their Own. The host James Corden suggested to the panelists that they should think of a new dance to mark Farah's winning celebration, and Balding subsequently came up with the "M" gesture called "Mobot". While demonstrating it for the first time, she indicated that the part of the move intended to represent the "M" in "Mo" was inspired by the dance to "Y.M.C.A.", a popular song by the Village People. Corden himself then named it as the "Mobot".[77] A robot was named "Mobot" at a university research exhibition, in honour of Farah's celebration.[78] Farah has since used the pose as part of a charity to raise funds for his foundation.[cita requerida] Virgin Media has promised to donate £2 for every YouTube video that is uploaded with someone doing the mobot.[79]
In April 2010, Farah married his longtime girlfriend Tania Nell in Richmond, London. Other athletes at the wedding included Paula Radcliffe, Steve Cram, Hayley Yelling, Jo Pavey, Mustafa Mohamed and Scott Overall, who was an usher.[80][81] Farah has a stepdaughter Rihanna from this relationship.[82][83] He and his wife have twin daughters Aisha and Amani born in August 2012.[84]
Farah is a devout Muslim,[85] and is an active supporter of the Muslim Writers Awards.[86] Islam is an important part of his preparation: "I normally pray before a race, I read dua [Islamic prayers or invocations], think about how hard I've worked and just go for it." He notes that the Qur'an says "that you must work hard in whatever you do, so I work hard in training and that's got a lot to do with being successful. [It] doesn't just come overnight, you've got to train for it and believe in yourself; that's the most important thing."[87] An RISSC publication named Mo Farah as among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in 2013.[88]
Farah is also a fan of Arsenal F.C., and has trained with its first team squad.[89][90] He has indicated a desire to become a fitness coach for the club once he retires so as to improve its conditioning record.[90] In October 2013, he launched a book titled Mo Farah, Twin Ambitions: My autobiography in Canary Wharf, London.[91]
In addition, Farah has a large following on social media. This includes roughly 1 million followers on Twitter and 400,000 on Facebook. In 2013, he was the top-ranked query for a sportsperson on the search engine Microsoft UK Bing who was not a footballer.[92]
As of January 2014, Farah's main place of residence is Portland, Oregon, where he and his wife and daughters have a home.[93]
Farah is additionally involved in various philanthropic initiatives, launching the Mo Farah Foundation after a trip to Somalia in 2011.[94] The following year, he participated in ITV's The Cube and won £250,000 for his foundation, becoming the first person ever to win the top prize on the show.[95] Along with other high profile athletes, Farah later took part in the 2012 Olympic hunger summit at 10 Downing Street hosted by Prime Minister David Cameron, part of a series of international efforts which have sought to respond to the return of hunger as a high profile global issue.[96]
Olympic memorabilia featuring and signed by Farah has also been auctioned off to raise funds for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).[97] In 2013, he likewise joined legislators and activists in a campaign urging Barclays Bank to repeal its decision to withdraw from the UK remittance market. Farah often used the money transfer operators to send remittances to family, and some of the world's largest organizations and charities, including the UN and his own foundation, likewise paid staff and channeled funds through these services.[98] In March 2013, Farah, singer Robbie Williams, and a number of other celebrities also urged Chancellor George Osborne to clamp down on global corporations that avoid paying taxes in poor countries in which they operate.[99]
Farah has endorsement deals with a number of companies, including PACE Sports Management, Nike, Lucozade, Bupa and Virgin Media.[94] He is expected to earn roughly £10 million in advertising and sponsorships besides making roughly £250,000 – £450,000 during exhibitions, and promoting "Brand Mo" with the management firm Octagen.[93][100] His work with Nike Inc. includes training at the Nike Oregon Project and marketing of clothing and shoes.[101][102] According to the brand consultants BrandRapport, Farah would still have made large sums of money even if he had not managed a second gold medal. The success of the UK team in general at the London Olympics and the enthusiasm surrounding the event has reportedly paved the way for future endorsement deals that dwarf those previously offered to British Olympic athletes.[103] In order to better preserve his earnings after taxes, Farah also applied in 2013 to have his main place of residence changed to Portland, where he spends most of the year training.[93]
In December 2013, Farah signed a marketing deal with Quorn, part of a multi-million pound campaign aimed at doubling the firm's sales. He led television advertisements for Quorn's vegetarian forms of protein, with the campaign scheduled to last throughout the following year.[104]
In 2012–2013, Farah intimated that he had been stopped a number of times by U.S. Customs officials under suspicion of being a terrorist, a fact which he attributed to confusion between his full name "Mohamed" and a computerized check-in process.[105] On one occasion after the 2012 Olympics, he asserted that he had attempted to prove his identity by showing his Olympic gold medals to customs officials, but that this was not accepted.[106]
In September 2012, the civil rights organization Hope not Hate published an expose of a verbal attack made against Farah by the EDL, which had been posted on a number of the latter group's divisional Facebook pages. The EDL rant criticized Farah's philanthropic work with his foundation and the amount of time he spent outside the UK, and questioned his dedication to the country.[107]
Farah was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to athletics.[14][15] The move was met with anger by many in the general public, including erstwhile Minister of Sports Gerry Sutcliffe, who felt that Farah instead deserved a higher accolade.[108][109] Farah's former physical education teacher Alan Watkinson similarly indicated that he was disappointed that Farah was not knighted and that the decision "discredits the system although it's still a fantastic achievement for Mo and well deserved."[109] However, deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg cited Farah's Olympic double gold win in his 2013 New Year's message and 2012 Autumn conference,[110][111] and David Cameron on August 2013 expressed support for a knighthood for Mo Farah.[112]
Event | Distance | Placing | Medal |
---|---|---|---|
2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships | 3,000 m | 6th | None |
2006 European Cross Country Championships | 10,000 m | 1st | Gold medal[7] |
2006 European Cross Country Championships | Men's team | 4th | None |
2006 European Championships in Athletics | 5,000 m | 2nd | Silver medal |
2006 Commonwealth Games | 5,000 m | 9th | None |
2007 World Championships in Athletics | 5,000 m | 6th | None |
2008 World Indoor Championships | 3,000 m | 6th | None |
2008 European Cross Country Championships | 10,000 m | 2nd | Silver medal |
2008 European Cross Country Championships | Men's team | 3rd | Bronze medal |
2009 European Indoor Athletics Championships | 3,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2009 World Championships in Athletics | 5,000 m | 7th | None |
2009 European Cross Country Championships | 10,000 m | 2nd | Silver medal |
2009 European Cross Country Championships | Men's team | 2nd | Silver medal |
2010 European Athletics Championships | 10,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2010 European Athletics Championships | 5,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships | 3,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2011 World Championships in Athletics | 10,000 m | 2nd | Silver medal |
2011 World Championships in Athletics | 5,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2012 World Indoor Championships | 3,000 m | 4th | None |
2012 European Athletics Championships | 5,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2012 Olympic Games | 10,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2012 Olympic Games | 5,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2013 World Championships in Athletics | 10,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2013 World Championships in Athletics | 5,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2014 European Athletics Championships | 10,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
2014 European Athletics Championships | 5,000 m | 1st | Gold medal |
Surface | Event | Time | Date | Place |
---|---|---|---|---|
Outdoor Track | 800 m | 1:48.69 | 5 August 2003 | Eton |
1500 m | 3:28.81 ER | 19 July 2013 | Monaco | |
One mile | 3:56.49 | 6 August 2005 | London | |
2000 m | 5:06.34 | 9 March 2006 | Melbourne | |
3000 m | 7:36.86 | 27 July 2013 | London | |
Two miles | 8:07.85 ER | 24 August 2014 | Birmingham | |
5000 m | 12:53.11 NR | 22 July 2011 | Monaco | |
10,000 m | 26:46.57 ER | 3 June 2011 | Eugene | |
Indoor Track | 1500 m | 3:39.03 | 28 January 2012 | Glasgow |
One mile | 3:57.92 | 4 February 2012 | Boston | |
3000 m | 7:34.47 NR | 21 February 2009 | Birmingham | |
Two miles | 8:08.07 NR | 18 February 2012 | Birmingham[124] | |
5000 m | 13:10.60 ER | 19 February 2011 | Birmingham | |
Road | 10 km | 27:44 | 31 May 2010 | London |
15 km | 43:13+ | 25 October 2009 | Portsmouth | |
10 miles | 46:25 | 25 October 2009 | Portsmouth | |
Half marathon | 1:00:00 NR | 7 September 2014 | Bupa Great North Run | |
Marathon | 2:08:21 | 13 April 2014 | London Marathon |
+ intermediate split in longer race.
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