Sir Mo Farah tracked down his namesake for a TV show in 2022 (Image: Getty)
British Olympics hero has reportedly been pestered for money by the man whose name he took to travel to the UK.
Sir Mo, whose real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin, was illegally trafficked to the UK at the age of nine. And he took the name ‘Mo Farah’ from the child’s passport used to fly him to Heathrow in 1993.
The full story emerged in a 2022 TV show called ‘The Real Mo Farah’, in which Sir Mo was brought together with his namesake, who was studying in Turkey at the time. Sir Mo promised to stay in touch and sent him £5,000.
But now, according to , the four-time Olympic gold medallist has decided to cut ties after being hounded for money. A source told the newspaper: “Sir Mo felt he was being harassed and hounded.
“He has taken a step back. He didn’t want to make a big fuss but thought it better to not engage. He has had to change his phone number. It’s unfair Sir Mo is having to deal with this. He feels he’s the victim. He is just tired, and thinks it’s so sad.”
Sir Mo feels he has been the victim of emotional blackmail, with around 10 other individuals also asking him for money after getting hold of his phone number
Sir Mo Farah won two gold medals at the London 2012 Olympics (Image: Getty)
The real Mo, speaking from the Somalian capital of Mogadishu, claims that he and Farah have not spoken for a year. “Mo got what he wanted and now he doesn’t care whether I live or die,” . “He made a lot of promises and said he would stop using my name and give me my name back.
“He told me he wanted to stop living a lie, but he is still living a lie. He said he would help me get a tourist visa so I could visit my mum in England, but I’ve spent two years waiting and nothing has happened.”
Sir Mo, now 41, came to the UK as a child after his father died in the Somali civil war and his mother decided it would be best for him and his twin, Hassan, to live with family. He went on to become one of the nation’s greatest-ever Olympians.
Among his countless long-distance running achievements are 5,000m and 10,000m double golds at the 2012 London Olympics, the 2013 Moscow World Championships, the 2015 Beijing World Championships and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.