There was an outpouring of shock and support earlier this week when Sir Mo Farah shared the truth on his identity. The athlete has told how he entered the UK illegally under the name of another child.
Sir Mo, a four-time Olympic gold-medal winner who has also won six world titles and the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, says his own children have motivated him to tell the truth and has done so in a new documentary, The Real Mo Farah, which aired on on the BBC on Wednesday night (July 13).
He previously claimed he had been born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and spent most of his early life in Djibouti. He said he had come to London when he was eight to join his father, speaking barely any English – a story he has now revealed to be untrue. In fact, Sir Mo's father was killed during the civil war in Somalia when he was four and he travelled to the UK with a woman he did not know.
In the documentary Sir Mo, 39, told how he was brought from Somalia illegally, having assumed the name of another child, after his father was killed in the civil war. He was later helped to obtain UK citizenship by his school PE teacher Alan Watkinson, while still using the name Mohamed Farah.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Thursday morning (July 14), Mr Watkinson said the athlete “locked away” his past because he wanted to focus on the “one thing that drove him”. Following the broadcast of BBC documentary The Real Mo Farah, Mr Watkinson received an outpouring of love for helping his student who was trafficked to the UK as a child.
Speaking about the rise of the four-time Olympian to Ben Shephard and Ranvir Singh, Mr Watkinson said: “He was in that situation where really he had no other option. I think the progress he was making as an athlete, the knowledge that if the story came out at any time what would that mean for him.
"I believe he locked that away because he wanted to focus on the thing that drove him." Mr Watkinson was the first person to be told the truth about Sir Mo’s arrival in the UK as a young boy, and the teacher was instrumental in getting him moved to a better home and helped him to apply for British citizenship.
"It was a real bombshell," Mr Watkinson said of finding out the truth all those years ago. He added: "He has always been the person that you see in the documentary… that’s who he is." Addressing Ben, he said: "You’ve played football with him, I’ve known him for a considerable amount of time. He is such a generous and lovely guy.
"You always forgive him for everything because he turns up with a great smile on his face and is such engaging company. I think you’ll probably see more of him, the guard will be lifted. You’ll see Mo for what he is."
Sir Mo informed Mr Watkinson about his decision to reveal his true identity in advance of the documentary. "It was an interesting moment because I know that a lot of his friends were saying to him, ‘Are you sure? Do you really want to do this? Can’t you just leave it alone? This could cause you all sorts of problems,'" he said of finding out.
" know Mo, when he decides he wants to do something, he more often than not goes ahead and does it. And more often than not his instinct is right." When Ranvir asked Mr Watkinson if he advised Mo against doing it, he said: "No, I didn’t. I talked to him and listened to him, I knew from what he said to me that he had to do it."
Sir Mo has said he was "relieved" the Home Office would not take action against him after he revealed the information. He added: "I’m just grateful for every chance I’ve got in Britain to embrace my country."
However, the Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into Sir Mo Farah’s revelation. In a statement, the Met said: "We are aware of reports in the media concerning Sir Mo Farah. No reports have been made to the MPS (Metropolitan Police Service) at this time. Specialist officers have opened an investigation and are currently assessing the available information."
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