On a sumptuous afternoon in Switzerland, Mo Farah secured yet another European 5,000 metres triumph. A remarkable few hours, Farah’s victory was the catalyst for Britain’s most decorated day in the history of major championships, one that involved five gold and three bronze medals.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia on March 23 1983, Mohammed “Mo” Farah moved to England at the age of eight. Similar to a Jersey Shore ‘actor’, Mo was unable to speak a word of English. Quickly taking a shine to the young man, Alan Watkinson, Farah’s physical education teacher at Holloway Secondary School, saw that the slightly built extrovert had the ability to cover long distances at a decent pace.
With guidance from Watkinson, Farah started running competitively from the age of 13. One year later, after finishing ninth in the English schools cross country, Farah captured his first English school title. At the age of 18, after years of tough training and sacrifice, he won the 5,000m title at the European Athletics Junior Championship. This 2001 triumph encouraged Farah to become a full-time athlete and live a rather regimental life.
Deciding to embrace a sort of John Rambo meets Big Brother type existence, Mo moved in with a group of Kenyan runners. Here, they quite literally ate, trained and rested together without any form of social life. The ecclesiastical solitude paid off in 2006, a year that saw Farah travel to Gothenburg and grab silver at the European Championships 5,000m. An exciting time for the 23 year old, Mo also stormed to success at the European Cross Country Championships in San Giorgio su Legnano in Italy a few months later.
After a below par sixth place finish at the 2007 World Championships, Farah left Japan disheartened and decided to set his sights on competing in more 10,000m events. In 2008, after failing to claim a medal at the Beijing Olympics, many believed that Mo was anything but a world class runner.
With a he, Farah heavy heart, he packed his bags and flew to Kenya, deciding to train in a high altitude environment, a decision that proved to be a very shrewd move.
Despite finishing seventh at the 2009 World Championships, Farah did grab gold at the European Indoor Championships in March, and 2010 would prove to be another successful year for the long distance runner, albeit in a slightly different manner. Marrying his long-time girlfriend Tania Nell, the newlyweds moved to Portland, Oregon, a relocation that provided Farah with almost perfect training conditions. Obviously benefiting from his geographical jump, the now much discussed runner set a new British Record at the New York Marathon and won silver in the at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea.
Widely regarded as one of the best long-distance runners in the world, the following year would most definitely solidify this very concept. The London Olympics saw Farah storm to victory in the 5,000m and 10,000m, performances that put the icing on top of the most delectable of cakes. This was also the year of Farah’s most significant moment ever, the introduction of the Mobot, a celebration that would make Peter Crouch proud.
A bittersweet moment arrived at the recent European Championships, as Mo won another two gold medals in the same week his younger brother Omar was arrested for breaking and entering.
Farah, who was awarded a CBE last year, was part of a Great Britain team that amassed 12 gold medals at the European championships. For an Irishman observing, this sense of rebirth was sickening. The 31 year olds fourth distance double in just five seasons helped alleviate the anguish of missing the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow through illness.
Rather mysteriously, like something out of a Haruki Murakami novel, when asked to explain his withdrawal from the aforementioned Scottish event, Farah said he had collapsed on his bathroom floor and was actually airlifted to a Utah hospital.
At 31, Mo Farah looks to be getting stronger and stronger; and surely there is so much MO to come.
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