October is Black History Month, so every day during October I will be posting up an introduction to an historical person of colour with a place in the history of the United Kingdom.
Mo Farah is a British long-distance runner and the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.
Farah was born in 1983 in Mogadishu, Somalia, to a family from Gabiley, Somaliland. His father was a businessman in Mogadishu, but the family had to flee and Farah found himself living as a refugee in Djibouti with his mother and brothers.
He moved with his family at the age of eight to join his father in Britain speaking barely a word of English, leaving his twin brother behind in Djibouti – they remained separated for twelve years. Farah went on to be based in London, and ran for Newham and Essex Beagles athletics club, training at St Mary’s University College, Twickenham from 2001 to 2011.
Farah is the European record holder for the 10,000 metres, half marathon, marathon, and two miles, the British record holder for the 5000 metres, the British indoor record holder for the 3000 metres, and the current world record holder for the one hour run and indoor world record holder for the two miles.
Farah is the most decorated athlete in British athletics history, with ten global titles, and was the first British athlete to win two gold medals at the same world championships, although Dame Kelly Holmes had achieved the feat at an Olympic Games. His five gold medals at the European Athletics Championships make him the most successful athlete in individual events in the championships’ history. He has won the European Athlete of the Year award and the British Athletics Writers Association British Athlete of the Year award more than any other athlete, three times and six times respectively. Farah was made a CBE in 2013 and was knighted by the Queen in 2017.
Farah has been actively involved in a range of good causes. He launched the Mo Farah Foundation after a trip to Somalia in 2011 and the following year won £250,000 for his foundation on ITV’s The Cube – the only person to win the top prize on the show. He later took part in the 2012 Olympic hunger summit at 10 Downing Street, part of a series of international efforts seeking to respond to the return of hunger as a high-profile global issue.
In 2013, he joined other celebrities urging Chancellor George Osborne to clamp down on global corporations that avoid paying taxes in poor countries in which they operate. He has also expressed support for research into brain tumours. On 7 August 2017, Farah became a global ambassador for Marathon Kids.
Farah is a Muslim and an active supporter of the Muslim Writers Awards. He was named among the 500 most influential Muslims in the world in 2013. He is also an Arsenal fan and has trained with its first team squad.
More about Mo Farah at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mo_Farah