1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: On this episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly, The greatest British 2 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:11,799 Speaker 1: distance runner of all time recently dropped a bombshell. Mo Farah, 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:15,280 Speaker 1: a four time Olympic gold medalist, revealed that the story 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: of how he came to the UK, a story he's 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,040 Speaker 1: told for much of his life, is not true. What 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:24,240 Speaker 1: actually happened to Farah as a child is a heartbreaking 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: tale of human trafficking. Producer Jessica Ramowski has been following 8 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: the story and what it means for globally acclaimed athletes 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:37,240 Speaker 1: and immigrants alike. I'm your host John Gonzalez from Sports 10 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:41,520 Speaker 1: Illustrated and I Heart Radio. This is Sports Illustrated Weekly. 11 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:53,440 Speaker 1: He's making a real big effort. Jake Whiteman of Great 12 00:00:53,479 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: Britain is called plastica Britason. Jake Whiteman running for Great Britain. 13 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:00,840 Speaker 1: He has run well all season, but don't think anybody 14 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:05,119 Speaker 1: expected him to take this win. On his shoulder shake, 15 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: it's gottap me up. He put in a huge surge 16 00:01:08,480 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: on the backstretch and he won. He is gonna gold, 17 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:17,560 Speaker 1: Jake Whitman. He took the gold medal over the heavy favorite, 18 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: which was Norway's Jacob Inger. Britson. I think Jacob was 19 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 1: almost as shocked as Jake Whiteman was. I mean the 20 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:27,880 Speaker 1: look of shock as he crossed the line. He was 21 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 1: so happy shock. And to really top off, how incredible 22 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: this was. Jake Whiteman's dad, Jeff, was actually announcing the 23 00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: race in the stadium. Jake Whiteman's father crowned him champion. 24 00:01:50,280 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: So Whiteman has this furious kick and as I watched 25 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: the seconds tick up on the clock at the finish line, 26 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: I started to think that the British record it could 27 00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:05,240 Speaker 1: be going down. That's a record that's owned by none 28 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,959 Speaker 1: other than mo Farah. White Man crosses the line. He 29 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: couldn't quite get there in the mix zone. It was 30 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: definitely a topic of conversation. So when Whiteman finally made 31 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:18,120 Speaker 1: his way there to chat with the media, I asked 32 00:02:18,200 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: him if he'd seen this documentary that had just come 33 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: out from the BBC about mo Farah, and he said, yeah, 34 00:02:24,160 --> 00:02:27,480 Speaker 1: he'd watched it when he was in Eugene and it 35 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: really moved him, sad like, so sad like that that 36 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: was the main thing I felt was the empty for 37 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: him and most being a hero since I was a 38 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: kid that I grew up with him um coming through 39 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: and winning all his global titles and Olympic titles. And 40 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 1: I've before I spent some time with him. I still 41 00:02:43,639 --> 00:02:45,040 Speaker 1: in all when I'm with him because of how good 42 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 1: an effort he is. And he's definitely inspired a whole 43 00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:49,280 Speaker 1: generation of British efforts like me to believe that we 44 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,000 Speaker 1: can push it the next level. Yes, so you call 45 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,000 Speaker 1: him a hero before we get to what he recently 46 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: revealed and what he went through as a child, give 47 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: listeners a little bit of background on Farah Mofarra is 48 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,960 Speaker 1: the greatest runner of all time in British history. He's 49 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: perhaps best known London Olympics two thousand twelve, so his 50 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,400 Speaker 1: home Olympics. He won the five thousand and ten thousand 51 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:16,359 Speaker 1: meter races on the track, so double gold there. He 52 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: is the Olympic ten thousand Madia champion, He's the Olympic 53 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: five thousand made a champion. He is a man. At 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,160 Speaker 1: the moment, I've bright Britain, I have another goal. But 55 00:03:27,280 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: that wasn't enough for Mo Ferret. He came back four 56 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 1: years later in Rio and he won those two races again. 57 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: It's gonna get again. One of the greatest distance from 58 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 1: the wounds in a scene arise. Four gold medals, four 59 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: team Great Britain, truly unprecedented, a double. How popular was 60 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: he in Britain? John, We know what British people do 61 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:58,800 Speaker 1: when they're obsessed with someone, they knight them, and that's 62 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: exactly what happened to Ferret. Came back to Britain after 63 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: the Olympics. He was knighted in sen So he's technically 64 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 1: Sir Mo Farah to us lay people. And really the 65 00:04:09,840 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: relationship that Britain has with him is he's just hailed 66 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:19,360 Speaker 1: as a hero across the entire country. So he's Sir 67 00:04:19,520 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: Mo Ferre. He's won four gold medals, he's a superstar 68 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:26,080 Speaker 1: in the sport. But then his personal life has been 69 00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,520 Speaker 1: revealed recently to be something completely different, thanks to to 70 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,000 Speaker 1: a documentary that just dropped on the BBC, A lot 71 00:04:32,080 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: of what we thought we knew about Mo Farah turns 72 00:04:35,040 --> 00:04:37,760 Speaker 1: out to be untrue. Tell us about his personal journey 73 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: and what his story was up to this point. The 74 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,000 Speaker 1: story that we had come to believe about Moferra, the 75 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:47,840 Speaker 1: one that was actually solidified in his official autobiography called 76 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: Twin Ambitions, was that he came over to the UK 77 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 1: from Mogadishu, Somalia when he was eight or nine years old. 78 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:57,400 Speaker 1: He has said that he came with his mother and 79 00:04:57,480 --> 00:05:00,120 Speaker 1: two of his brothers to live with his father, who 80 00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: at that time we presume was a UK citizen. That 81 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:06,600 Speaker 1: was a story that was told for so long, and 82 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: then we find out that that's not actually how it 83 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 1: went down, and a lot of those details were altered 84 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: or fabricated. So what actually happened. So the pretty big 85 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: bombshell that he drops early on in the documentary, is 86 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:23,200 Speaker 1: this the real stories. I was born in Somaliland, north 87 00:05:23,279 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 1: of Somalia, as we're saying at the case, despite what 88 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: I've said in the past, my parents never lived in 89 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:38,159 Speaker 1: the UK. Somali Land is this region in northern Somalia. 90 00:05:38,279 --> 00:05:41,960 Speaker 1: It's semi autonomous, lots of agriculture, cattle farming, there's a 91 00:05:42,000 --> 00:05:45,599 Speaker 1: lot of dessert, and that is where mo Farah actually 92 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: came of age with his family. When Pharah was four 93 00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:52,120 Speaker 1: years old, his father was killed in a civil war there. 94 00:05:52,440 --> 00:05:55,000 Speaker 1: So his father, who we presumed to be in the 95 00:05:55,160 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: UK welcoming his son from Somali Land, that did not 96 00:05:59,000 --> 00:06:03,960 Speaker 1: happen in reality. When he was nine years old. He 97 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:06,760 Speaker 1: was brought to the UK by a woman who on 98 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: paper was his mother, but as he clarified, was not 99 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,039 Speaker 1: in reality his mother. He was told that he would 100 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: be living with relatives there. He got on a plane 101 00:06:16,279 --> 00:06:19,760 Speaker 1: for the first time, he's given a passport. The passport 102 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: has his new name on it. That is my effective, 103 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: but it's not my name. From that moment comment in 104 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 1: different name and different identity. What we know is that 105 00:06:32,000 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: he came to the UK with a woman who is 106 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,159 Speaker 1: not his mother, and he was promised that he would 107 00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:41,120 Speaker 1: be delivered safely to relatives to really improve his life. 108 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: Is I think what his family expected. So what do 109 00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,400 Speaker 1: we know about this woman, Like, how did they meet, 110 00:06:47,880 --> 00:06:50,160 Speaker 1: why did she take him to the UK? How did 111 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,240 Speaker 1: that whole thing unfold? In the documentary, Fara revealed that 112 00:06:53,800 --> 00:06:56,080 Speaker 1: he was living with his family in Somali land on 113 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 1: a farm, and this woman had come to his home 114 00:06:59,279 --> 00:07:02,720 Speaker 1: several times and he doesn't really remember the details of 115 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: how the decision was made, but he was told that 116 00:07:05,400 --> 00:07:07,960 Speaker 1: he was going to go with this woman and he 117 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:09,760 Speaker 1: was off in search of a better life, and he 118 00:07:09,840 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: was going to get on a plane and he was 119 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: going to join relatives in the UK. That's what he 120 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,840 Speaker 1: was told, that's what his family was told. Presumably. We 121 00:07:18,000 --> 00:07:22,560 Speaker 1: also know that this woman's son was Mohammed Farah, and 122 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,320 Speaker 1: he essentially assumed the identity of that son with his paperwork. 123 00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: It was his photo, as he said previously, on the passport, 124 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,480 Speaker 1: but he had his name and really his life as 125 00:07:34,520 --> 00:07:37,720 Speaker 1: this woman's son. mL Farres stepped off the plane in 126 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:40,000 Speaker 1: the UK with a piece of paper that he says 127 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: had contact details on it for relatives in the UK, 128 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: and he says as soon as they got to this 129 00:07:46,800 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: woman's house, she took that paper and ripped it up 130 00:07:50,120 --> 00:07:52,040 Speaker 1: in front of him and threw it in the trash, 131 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:58,240 Speaker 1: and at that moment was in trouble. He was exploited 132 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:01,160 Speaker 1: by this woman. He told the BBC that in order 133 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:04,000 Speaker 1: to eat, he had to clean the house, take care 134 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: of this woman's other children. That's what began several years 135 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:12,920 Speaker 1: of what was essentially indentured servitude. So he's a victim 136 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: of modern day human trafficking, modern day essentially not not 137 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,840 Speaker 1: beyond indentured servitude, slavery really, and he's stuck in this 138 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,920 Speaker 1: home with this family that that's not his own. But 139 00:08:24,000 --> 00:08:25,800 Speaker 1: he does become mo Farah, how does he find a 140 00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: way out? The way out for moth Fare was school. 141 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:31,600 Speaker 1: He really wanted to go to school. He begged this 142 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: woman for years to please let him go, Please let 143 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,319 Speaker 1: him go. She, for obvious reasons, kept pushing back. He 144 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:40,760 Speaker 1: says she did not want him in school, but she 145 00:08:40,840 --> 00:08:43,400 Speaker 1: did eventually relent and in year seven, so when he 146 00:08:43,480 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 1: was around twelve years old, he started at Felton Community College. 147 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,640 Speaker 1: Pharah said school was actually really tough for him, which 148 00:08:50,679 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: you can imagine makes sense. He doesn't speak English very well, 149 00:08:54,160 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: and he's obviously going back to a house every day 150 00:08:56,640 --> 00:09:00,560 Speaker 1: that's not his own, where he's basically being kept prisoner. 151 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: School administrators said that they were confused about his past. 152 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,240 Speaker 1: He kept coming to school looking really unkempt. He looked 153 00:09:09,320 --> 00:09:13,080 Speaker 1: uncared for, he was starting fights with kids. And another 154 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: layer here really is the fact that he was one 155 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 1: of the very few kids of color in the entire school, 156 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,920 Speaker 1: and he really struggled. And not to mention, this is 157 00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:23,559 Speaker 1: basically middle school, right, which is already a terrible time 158 00:09:23,600 --> 00:09:26,679 Speaker 1: for a lot of people. So Mofair definitely struggled when 159 00:09:26,760 --> 00:09:29,800 Speaker 1: he first began at Feltam. So he's a seventh grader. 160 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,200 Speaker 1: He's getting picked on, he's getting in fights. How does 161 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: he find running? Mo said it was around this time 162 00:09:36,040 --> 00:09:38,559 Speaker 1: that he began running because he felt like and I 163 00:09:38,679 --> 00:09:40,719 Speaker 1: feel like, this is why a lot of people run. 164 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:43,560 Speaker 1: It was one thing that he could control. He couldn't 165 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 1: control his living conditions. He couldn't control that he'd been 166 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 1: kind of ripped from his family and lied to, but 167 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 1: he could control going out on the roads and going 168 00:09:51,760 --> 00:09:54,800 Speaker 1: for a jog. It was also this period in his 169 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,760 Speaker 1: life when he connected with his pe teacher, Alan Watkinson. 170 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:03,719 Speaker 1: The BBC's Oak with Allen Watkinson, and Watkinson remembers the 171 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: first thing is Moe was just incredibly fast, incredibly talented. 172 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:09,480 Speaker 1: We put him in a race and he when it. 173 00:10:09,760 --> 00:10:11,160 Speaker 1: We put in another race and he when it, and 174 00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:13,400 Speaker 1: every race we put many pretty much always bore them then, 175 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: so it wouldn't buy a long distance that that wasn't 176 00:10:15,400 --> 00:10:19,079 Speaker 1: difficult to support. Watkinson kept inviting Mofarre to join the 177 00:10:19,120 --> 00:10:21,719 Speaker 1: track club because he was like, you're so fast, come 178 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 1: join us after school, and Faras said, I always had 179 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: an excuse. The truth was he was not permitted to 180 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:30,400 Speaker 1: be at school by the woman that he lived with 181 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 1: past school hours, so he could not go to track 182 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 1: practice after school despite his emerging talent, and Farah told 183 00:10:40,520 --> 00:10:43,280 Speaker 1: the BBC, you know, it was this tension. This is 184 00:10:43,320 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: when he decided he needed to tell someone about his situation. 185 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:50,840 Speaker 1: He said that he knew that his JIM teacher, Allen Watkinson, 186 00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:53,520 Speaker 1: was a good guy, and so one day after school 187 00:10:53,679 --> 00:10:56,600 Speaker 1: he came to him with another student from Somalia who 188 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: spoke better English than him, presumably to translate what was 189 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:05,480 Speaker 1: going on, and he told Watkinson everything. So remember at 190 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: this point that Mo Farah was twelve years old, and 191 00:11:10,040 --> 00:11:16,000 Speaker 1: that childlike innocence really comes through when Mo shows up 192 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 1: to school the day after he reveals everything to Watkinson, 193 00:11:19,840 --> 00:11:22,599 Speaker 1: with all of his personal belongings. He thought that he 194 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 1: would tell his big secret to this adult and everything 195 00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,800 Speaker 1: would change immediately. Obviously that's not what happened, but things 196 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:34,079 Speaker 1: did change for Mo Farra. Social workers were sent to 197 00:11:34,200 --> 00:11:37,800 Speaker 1: his home. Faris said he told them everything. He was 198 00:11:37,920 --> 00:11:40,000 Speaker 1: sent at that point to live with a friend's mother, 199 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: and Watkinson remembers watching Mo before and after his move 200 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: to this other house, and he said he just kind 201 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: of transformed. And Mo himself said a huge weight was 202 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:55,040 Speaker 1: lifted he felt like he could be mo Farah, which 203 00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 1: is kind of interesting considering that he wasn't Mo Farah, 204 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:01,080 Speaker 1: But he really he felt like he could come into 205 00:12:01,160 --> 00:12:04,080 Speaker 1: his own identity as who this mo Farrah was once 206 00:12:04,160 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: he got out of that stressful situation. So it gets 207 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:12,960 Speaker 1: out of the house. But obviously that there are other 208 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: hurdles for him to clear. He still needed British citizenship, right, 209 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: so how does he manage that. Around the time Mofarra 210 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: was fourteen years old, he was so good at running 211 00:12:22,679 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: that he began getting these opportunities to compete at higher 212 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:31,120 Speaker 1: level competitions. He was selected to represent England at the 213 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: World Schools Cross Country Championships. It was held in Latvia. Obviously, 214 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,040 Speaker 1: to leave the UK and then go to Latvia and 215 00:12:40,160 --> 00:12:43,559 Speaker 1: go back to the UK you need certain paperwork and 216 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:47,719 Speaker 1: that's when Watkinson really began the process of trying to 217 00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 1: get him citizenship, trying to get him the proper papers 218 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: that he needed to travel. Watkinson played a huge role 219 00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,080 Speaker 1: in making this happen. He still has a box that's 220 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: basically filled to the brim with the paperwork that helped 221 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:04,280 Speaker 1: Farah get his citizenship. There were things like letters from 222 00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:08,840 Speaker 1: school administrators supporting Parah's quest to get citizenship, then writing 223 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:10,959 Speaker 1: to you concern your people. We have at school. His 224 00:13:11,080 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 1: name is Mohammed Farah and he's an asylum seeker from Somalia. 225 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,000 Speaker 1: Would very much like him to obtain his British citizens 226 00:13:16,000 --> 00:13:17,959 Speaker 1: ships so that you can run in the Warld Athletics 227 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: Championships and represent Great Britain. Finally, in July of two thousand, 228 00:13:23,440 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: Farah gets his British citizenship. He was officially on paper 229 00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:31,880 Speaker 1: now Mohammed Farah, he was an asylum seeker from Somalia. 230 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:35,600 Speaker 1: That was his official status. Now he's a British citizen. 231 00:13:36,720 --> 00:13:40,599 Speaker 1: And he'd wondered early on when he first got to 232 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: the UK where the real Mo Farah actually ended up. 233 00:13:45,120 --> 00:13:48,839 Speaker 1: And in the documentary Watkinson, his pe teacher, revealed for 234 00:13:48,960 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: the first time that the year before the Mo Farra 235 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:56,760 Speaker 1: that we know arrived at school, Watkinson had actually taught 236 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:00,560 Speaker 1: another Mo Farah for a few months and then child 237 00:14:00,679 --> 00:14:04,079 Speaker 1: had disappeared and never heard from him again. So you 238 00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: can imagine just how deep this identity crisis is for 239 00:14:08,600 --> 00:14:11,719 Speaker 1: our Mo Farrah. Uh and still is. I mean, he 240 00:14:12,040 --> 00:14:15,040 Speaker 1: is Mo Ferra forever, but there's somebody else out there 241 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:22,920 Speaker 1: who was the original mo Ferra and potentially at this minute. Okay, 242 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,480 Speaker 1: so he gets a citizenship, he gets out of the house. 243 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: What do we know about the woman though, who brought 244 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:29,960 Speaker 1: him to England, to the UK in the first place. 245 00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,400 Speaker 1: What happened to her? Did the authority's tracker down? It 246 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:35,720 Speaker 1: appears that the authorities have located her in Somali Land. 247 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,680 Speaker 1: She's refusing to speak to media, but it appears that 248 00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: she and her ex husband are both involved in this 249 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 1: case and are both wanted for questioning. Now, she did 250 00:14:46,040 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: say that she was willing to speak with police about 251 00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:54,240 Speaker 1: the investigation. She maintains, however, that she was coerced into 252 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:57,840 Speaker 1: bringing mo Ferra to the UK. But it's just a 253 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:01,120 Speaker 1: matter of the investigation continue ing, all right. So those 254 00:15:01,160 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: are the people who were posing as Mofare's family. He's 255 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:09,320 Speaker 1: in the UK, he's establishing himself as a British citizen 256 00:15:09,480 --> 00:15:11,160 Speaker 1: and as a runner. But he has a real family 257 00:15:11,720 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 1: that's still back in Somaliland. Did he ever reconnect with them? 258 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: So it's around two thousand. He'd just gotten his British 259 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: citizenship and he started at university and near his university 260 00:15:22,760 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: was a Somali restaurant. Mo said that he would often 261 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,200 Speaker 1: go to this restaurant. It was very relaxing and colming 262 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: for him to be there, and he ended up meeting 263 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 1: a woman there who frequently came to the restaurant and 264 00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:38,120 Speaker 1: struck up a friendship with Mo. And she told him 265 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,200 Speaker 1: that she was from Somali land. She said, what's your 266 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:45,040 Speaker 1: mom's name? And he told her and she said, your 267 00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,760 Speaker 1: mom's alive. And to prove it, she showed him a 268 00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,360 Speaker 1: picture of his mom and he said that he was 269 00:15:51,520 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: absolutely shocked, not believing her, and she handed him a 270 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,800 Speaker 1: cassette tape and she said this is for you, and 271 00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: he pops the cassette tape into the tape player and 272 00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: on the tape was actually the voice of his mom. 273 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,120 Speaker 1: It wasn't just a tape, it was more of a voice. 274 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:14,120 Speaker 1: And then it was singing songs for me, like poems 275 00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: or like traditional song, you know. And I would listen 276 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:24,880 Speaker 1: to it for days wigs and then Lord Kobe google 277 00:16:24,920 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 1: cue so Coy and then after and the Nord Kobe 278 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:44,760 Speaker 1: google cul my mom's name is Aisha. I'll never forget 279 00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: my mom. On that tape, the cassette tape had a 280 00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: phone number written on the back of it, and he 281 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:53,840 Speaker 1: called that phone number and on the other end, his 282 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: mom picked up, and he was able to speak to 283 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: his mom for the first time in over ten years, 284 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,160 Speaker 1: since he'd been basically whisked a from the family home 285 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 1: in Somali Land. This conversation led to them reuniting. He 286 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,160 Speaker 1: ended up flying back to Somali Land with his wife 287 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:11,399 Speaker 1: and his young son, going back to the farm that 288 00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,320 Speaker 1: he'd grown up on, and basically reuniting with his entire family. 289 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:24,160 Speaker 1: It felt amazing. That's my real mom. And I think 290 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 1: as a kid growing up here, I was just me 291 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: and that was my name, that was my twin brother, 292 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: that's my mom. This is the village, this is the peak, 293 00:17:34,280 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: this is where I'm from. One sticking point for mo 294 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,440 Speaker 1: Farah in the story is who can we really blame 295 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,680 Speaker 1: for the trafficking? Now, Pharareh has said before he doesn't 296 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:47,879 Speaker 1: remember exactly how it came to be that he was 297 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,040 Speaker 1: going to go to Europe with this woman. We know 298 00:17:50,119 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: that the woman had been in contact with his family 299 00:17:52,800 --> 00:17:55,320 Speaker 1: and it was eventually decided that he would go with her. Now, 300 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:58,879 Speaker 1: obviously the woman says she was coerced, but one of 301 00:17:58,960 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: the hardest things Faris said that he's had to deal 302 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: with is the thought that a member of his own 303 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: family could have been involved in some way. And I 304 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,480 Speaker 1: don't know if that will ever be known, but that's 305 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:14,080 Speaker 1: obviously something that he has to contend with now. Yeah, 306 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,760 Speaker 1: that is so heartbreaking and there's so much to unpack here, 307 00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: and I would imagine just that Farah had to process 308 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,240 Speaker 1: this for a long time. I mean, he is almost 309 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:24,920 Speaker 1: fourty years old and we're just now hearing the real story. 310 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: So why now He hasn't come out and said, here's 311 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:29,840 Speaker 1: why I'm sharing this now. But we can make some 312 00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,639 Speaker 1: assumptions based on what we do know. Thirty nine. You know, 313 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: he's getting up there in terms of his age on 314 00:18:36,680 --> 00:18:40,200 Speaker 1: the track. Perhaps he thought my career is winding down. 315 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:42,760 Speaker 1: It's been you know, a solid amount of time since 316 00:18:42,800 --> 00:18:45,560 Speaker 1: my last gold medal. I can share this now, there 317 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,800 Speaker 1: might be less of a splash. Obviously there was not 318 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: less of a splash. This really really reverberated through the 319 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 1: track community and outside of it. Another thing that's happening 320 00:18:57,040 --> 00:18:59,200 Speaker 1: is there's a lot of heated debates going on about 321 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: immigration in the UK right now, and he has not 322 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 1: confirmed this, but one could conceivably think that he shared 323 00:19:06,960 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 1: the story now to try to bring a human picture 324 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: of what was going on. All that is commendable. I'm 325 00:19:11,560 --> 00:19:13,560 Speaker 1: glad that he stepped forward and told the truth and 326 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: hopefully this will help other potential victims of human trafficking. 327 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,000 Speaker 1: As you mentioned, you know, if he expected that this 328 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:21,960 Speaker 1: wouldn't make a splash, it was the opposite. It was 329 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:26,359 Speaker 1: mind blowing stuff. It was huge international news. How was 330 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,520 Speaker 1: it received in the UK specifically though, and also in 331 00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:33,280 Speaker 1: the track community. This news just was shocking and heartbreaking 332 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: for a lot of people. First, if you're in the 333 00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,480 Speaker 1: UK and you're a fan of Moferra, you have adored 334 00:19:38,560 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: this man for so long and I think there was 335 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: this thought that he came here for a better life. 336 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:46,760 Speaker 1: I almost want to say, a threat of pride, and 337 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: you know, to realize that he came here under the 338 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:52,800 Speaker 1: circumstances in which he did. That's something that British fans 339 00:19:53,119 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 1: have really had to reckon with the UK government on 340 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,200 Speaker 1: their part. As soon as the documentary dropped pretty swiftly 341 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: responded to it. They said, you do not have anything 342 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:04,480 Speaker 1: to worry about. You know, clearly it's now public that 343 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: he obtained his citizenship under a false name, assumed a 344 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:12,240 Speaker 1: false identity. The Hay government said, you know, essentially your 345 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:16,040 Speaker 1: mo Farah and beyond that, you are just a child 346 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:18,879 Speaker 1: when this happened. You can't be held responsible for what 347 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,119 Speaker 1: the adults around you did. This is also obviously sparked 348 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 1: a lot of conversations about migration and human trafficking, especially 349 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:31,400 Speaker 1: in the UK. I actually reached out to someone who 350 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,879 Speaker 1: is an expert on this, sunder Katwala. He's the director 351 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,640 Speaker 1: of a think take called British Future and they work 352 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,480 Speaker 1: on policy around identity and race and migration and what's 353 00:20:42,520 --> 00:20:44,440 Speaker 1: on people's minds in the UK when it comes to 354 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: these issues right now is asylum seekers and this deal 355 00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,240 Speaker 1: with the UK is prepped to make with Rwanda to 356 00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:56,600 Speaker 1: send asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda. It's really, really, 357 00:20:56,720 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: really divisive in the country right now, but it's definitely 358 00:21:00,560 --> 00:21:03,000 Speaker 1: the case that you know, somebody like mo Fou in 359 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,120 Speaker 1: those situations could be on a plane to Rwanda being 360 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:09,280 Speaker 1: told to seek asylum. That the question becomes will fare 361 00:21:09,400 --> 00:21:14,280 Speaker 1: story actually change policy in Britain That's unclear, but Sundercott 362 00:21:14,320 --> 00:21:18,880 Speaker 1: Wallace said it will definitely change public attitudes. Um, there 363 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,240 Speaker 1: was a kind of a I don't want to say 364 00:21:22,240 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: a backlash, but there was a lot of talk. After 365 00:21:24,520 --> 00:21:28,440 Speaker 1: the UK government came out and said Moferra, you are 366 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:31,240 Speaker 1: a citizen for life. You have nothing to worry about. 367 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:33,320 Speaker 1: There are a lot of folks who said, look, do 368 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,200 Speaker 1: you have to win for gold medals in order to 369 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 1: keep your citizenship here? Shouldn't regular people, people who aren't 370 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:44,240 Speaker 1: Olympic medalists have the same rights as this And that 371 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:47,200 Speaker 1: kind of sparked a conversation about that, and Catt Wallace 372 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: said that, yes, mo Ferra is an outlier in this case, 373 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:54,199 Speaker 1: but his story will still help move the conversation forward. 374 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: I think it will have a name checked on public 375 00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,320 Speaker 1: attitudes by bringing out the complexity. And it isn't necessarily 376 00:21:59,359 --> 00:22:03,600 Speaker 1: exceptionally them. It isn't necessarily about the four gold medals. 377 00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: It is also just about the humanizing of the story. 378 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: And so yeah, I think the emotional reaction to Mofower's 379 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,640 Speaker 1: story is that you know, because he comes when he's 380 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,639 Speaker 1: nine and he isn't going to school till he's twelve, 381 00:22:16,720 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: he's he's a boy with a life to lead, and 382 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:21,520 Speaker 1: we now know because of the actions of his pe 383 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,440 Speaker 1: teacher and of other people that they intervene and he 384 00:22:24,520 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: gets to lead his life and he gets to do 385 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:28,680 Speaker 1: extraordinary things. But I think there would be a lot 386 00:22:28,760 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: of sympathy towards you know, a man who did ordinary 387 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:35,720 Speaker 1: things given the chance to lead a life. Maybe he's 388 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 1: a club runner and does quite well and you know, 389 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: has kids and a family and you know, works, but 390 00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:45,159 Speaker 1: doesn't doesn't become a sporting star because I think I 391 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:49,000 Speaker 1: think it's an ethically very complicated story to deal with. 392 00:22:49,600 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: As we know, talking about migration and trafficking in terms 393 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:55,840 Speaker 1: of numbers, in terms of millions of people per year 394 00:22:56,160 --> 00:22:57,880 Speaker 1: or things like that, like that just kind of makes 395 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:01,240 Speaker 1: it arbitrary. It's easy to just throw own numbers. This 396 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:03,920 Speaker 1: story just happens to be about one of the greatest 397 00:23:03,920 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 1: British sports people of all time, so that definitely will 398 00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:10,159 Speaker 1: help to build public compassion towards the issue. According to 399 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:14,200 Speaker 1: sunder So, at the beginning of the show, Jess, we 400 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,119 Speaker 1: were talking about Mofaire's legacy as an athlete, but now 401 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 1: he shared this story that has huge implications. How do 402 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 1: you think that changes the perception of Mafair the person. 403 00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:25,440 Speaker 1: One thing that you should know about Mofaire is that 404 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: he's extremely calm, He's he's a little bit quiet. I mean, 405 00:23:30,920 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 1: this guy can tear up the track. But you know, 406 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,240 Speaker 1: with the media, you know, the perception has been he's 407 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,680 Speaker 1: just just very nice, very nice guy, very warm. Cares 408 00:23:41,720 --> 00:23:45,240 Speaker 1: a lot about mentoring people, people like we should say, 409 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:49,760 Speaker 1: Jake Whiteman gold medalists here at Worlds. So I think 410 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:53,479 Speaker 1: that that personality, that sort of quiet personality. I think 411 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,919 Speaker 1: it's shocked a lot of people that this had happened 412 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:58,960 Speaker 1: to him, to somebody who's just pretty reserved, and I 413 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:01,960 Speaker 1: think they were shocked that he shared this. He is 414 00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:05,240 Speaker 1: already down in history as the greatest British runner of 415 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,760 Speaker 1: all time. His times, his medals, those things speak for themselves. 416 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,600 Speaker 1: I think his new legacy is somebody who was able 417 00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,880 Speaker 1: to come forward with a secret that's really been weighing 418 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: on him his whole life, about his own identity and 419 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: really lean into it. And I think that's what we'll remember. 420 00:24:23,600 --> 00:24:26,359 Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated Weekly is a production of Sports Illustrated and 421 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:29,720 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 422 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:33,439 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 423 00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: you get your favorite shows and For more of Sports Illustrated, 424 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: its best stories and podcasts, visit SI dot com. This 425 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:44,160 Speaker 1: episode of Sports Illustrated Weekly was produced by Jessica Armoski, 426 00:24:44,520 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: Jordan Rizzieri, and Isaac Lee, who was also our sound engineer. 427 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,240 Speaker 1: Our senior producer is Dan Bloom. Our acting senior producer 428 00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:55,840 Speaker 1: is Harry sward Out. Our executive producers are Scott Brody 429 00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:59,439 Speaker 1: and me John Gonzalez. Our theme song is by Nolan 430 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:02,440 Speaker 1: Schneider and if you've stuck around this song, we leave 431 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:09,720 Speaker 1: you with this. Although I will say that London Marathon's 432 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,600 Speaker 1: coming in October this year and mo Farah might surprise 433 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: a lot of people. I mean, he's going to be 434 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: thirty nine. I don't want to be anywhere near him 435 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:19,800 Speaker 1: in a race if he's the mo Era that I 436 00:25:19,920 --> 00:25:22,560 Speaker 1: know he can be. So I think that'll be a 437 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:25,720 Speaker 1: nice homecoming for him to be in London, to be 438 00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: running this marathon. Having shared this story, I think it's 439 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:31,000 Speaker 1: going to be a really special moment for mo Farrah.