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Mohammed "Mo" Farah (Somali: Maxamed Faarax, Arabic: ???? ????) (born 23 March 1983 in Hargeisa, Somalia^[1]) is a Somali-born British international track and field athlete. He holds the British road record for 10,000 metres, the British indoor record in the 3000 metres and the British track record for 5000 metres. On 27 July 2010 Farah won Britain's first-ever men's European gold medal at 10,000 m in a time of 28 minutes 24.99 seconds.

^[3] He followed this with a gold in the 5000 m, becoming the 5th athlete^{[clarification needed]} to complete the long-distance double at the championships and the first British man to do so.^[4]

Based in London and running for Newham and Essex Beagles athletics club, Farah won his first major title at the European Junior Championships in 2001. On the track, he generally competes over 5000 metres, where he came sixth in the 2007 World Athletics Championships.^[5] He also runs the 3000 metres and occasionally the 1500 metres. In addition, Farah competes in cross-country running, where in December 2006 he became European champion in Italy.^[6] In 2009, he followed that with a gold medal in the 3000 m at the European Indoor Championships in Turin. In 2010 Farah became an ambassador for Bupa and Lucozade Sport.

Mohamed Farah Farah at the 2008 European Cross Country Championships Personal information Nationality British Date of birth 23 March 1983 (1983-03-23) (age 27) Place of birth Hargeisa, Somalia[1] Residence London, United Kingdom Height 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] Weight 65 kg (140 lb; 10.2 st)[2] Sport Sport Running Event(s) 1500 m, 3000 m, 5000 m, 10,000 m Club Newham and Essex Beagles Achievements and titles Personal best(s) 800m: 1:48.69 (Eton 2003) 1500m: 3:33.98 (Monaco 2009) 3000m: 7:38.15 (Zagreb 2006) 5000m: 12:57.94 (Zurich 2010) 10000m: 27:28.86 (Marseille 2010) [hide] Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for Great Britain European Championships Gold 2010 Barcelona 10,000 m Gold 2010 Barcelona 5000 m Silver 2006 Göteborg 5000 m European Indoor Championships Gold 2009 Torino 3000 m European Cross Country Championships Gold 2006 San Giorgio su Legnano Individual Silver 2008 Brussels Individual Silver 2009 Dublin Individual Silver 2009 Dublin Team Bronze 2008 Brussels Team European Team Championships Gold 2009 Leiria 5000 m

Biography

Junior career

Farah arrived in Britain in 1993, aged 8 years old with his father from Hargeisa, Somalia, speaking barely a word of English. His athletic talent was identified by physical education teacher Alan Watkinson at Feltham Community School, 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. His ambitions consisted of playing on the right wing for his beloved Arsenal."^[7] Watkinson would offer Farah the incentive of playing football for 30 minutes in the gym before taking him to the running club.

Farah continued his studies and was successful in physical education at Feltham Community College, a school located in Hounslow, London. Farah has said of Watkinson: "Alan was a big part of my career".^[8]

In 1996, at the age of 13, Farah entered the English schools cross country and finished ninth. The following year he won the first of five English school titles.^[8]

His first major title was at 5000 metres at the European Athletics Junior Championship in 2001.^[9]

Senior career

In 2005, Farah made an important move, moving 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."^[8]

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'."^[8]

In December 2006, Farah won the European Cross Country Championship in San Giorgio su Legnano, Italy.^[6]

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.^[10]

In May 2008, Farah ran 10,000 m events, claiming the fastest UK men's time for almost eight years. However, he suffered disappointment at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, being knocked out before the final in the 5000 m event.

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.^[11] 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,^[12] a performance which commentator Steve Cram called "the best performance by a male British distance runner for a generation".^[13] Farah attributed his good form to a spell of winter training at altitude in Ethiopia and Kenya.^[14] 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.^[15]

He 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.^[16]

Farah was one of the favourites to upset Serhiy Lebid's dominance at the 2009 European Cross Country Championships,^[17] but he won the silver medal for the second year running. Lebid was never in contention, and Farah and Alemayehu Bezabeh were some distance ahead of the pack throughout. Farah was overtaken by Bezabeh in the latter stages of the race, leaving the Briton with a second consecutive silver medal at the competition.^[18] He did not manage to attend the medal ceremony, however, as he collapsed immediately after the race and needed medical attention.^[19] After a close third place behind Edwin Soi at the BOClassic,^[20] he 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.^[21]

Farah celebrating his 2010 European Championships 10,000 metres gold medal

He won the 2010 London 10,000 in late May with a British road record time of 27:44, beating 10K world record holder Micah Kogo in the process.^[22] His success continued the following week at the European Cup 10,000 m as he improved his track best by nearly 16 seconds, finishing in 27:28.86. He won by a margin of over forty seconds ahead of second placed Abdellatif Meftah.^[23] After training in Africa, he returned to Europe for the 2010 European Athletics Championships. He took the 10,000 metres gold medal, overtaking Ayad Lamdessem 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.^[24] 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][25]

On 19 August 2010, at a Diamond League meeting in Zurich, 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.^[26]

Personal life

In April 2010 Farah married his long-term partner Tania Nell, in Richmond, London. Other athletes at the wedding included Paula Radcliffe, Steve Cram, Hayley Yelling, Jo Pavey, and Swedish steeplechaser Mustafa Mohamed.^[27]

Farah and his wife have a five year-old daughter, Rihanna.^[28]

Achievements

• 2005 European Indoor Athletics Championships
  • 3000 m Sixth place
• 2006 European Cross Country Championships
  • Gold Medal^[6]
• 2006 European Championships in Athletics
  • 5000 m Silver medal
• 2006 Commonwealth Games
  • 5000 m Ninth place
• 2007 World Championships in Athletics
  • 5000 m Sixth place
• 2009 European Indoor Championships in Athletics
  • 3000 m Gold medal
• 2010 European Athletics Championships
  • 10,000 m Gold medal
• 2010 European Athletics Championships
  • 5000 m Gold medal

[] Personal bests

+ intermediate split in longer race

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