Updated Jul 11, 2022 - Sports

Olympic runner Mo Farah reveals he was trafficked to UK as a child

Julia Shapero

Mo Farah competes in the One Hour Race during the Memorial Van Damme Brussels 2020 Diamond League meeting on Sept. 4, 2020, in Brussels. Photo: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Olympic runner Mo Farah was trafficked to the United Kingdom as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant, he recently revealed to the BBC.

Driving the news: Farah was flown to the U.K. from Djibouti when he was 9 years old by a woman he did not know and forced to care for another family's children, according to the BBC.

Farah had previously said he and his parents came to the U.K. from Somalia as refugees.

More details: Farah is originally from Somaliland but was staying with family in Djibouti when he was taken, he told the BBC.

He was given the name Mohamed Farah by the woman who trafficked him. His real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin, the BBC reported.
Farah was not allowed to attend school until he was about 12 years old. He eventually confided his situation to a teacher, who contacted social services and helped get him placed with a Somali foster family.

What he's saying: "Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it's not my name, or it's not the reality," Farah told the BBC. "The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin."

Background: Farah has four Olympic and six world gold medals for long-distance running. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017.

What's next: The BBC is airing a documentary about Farah's story called "The Real Mo Farah" on Wednesday.

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Olympic runner Mo Farah reveals he was trafficked to UK as a child

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