OLYMPIC ATHLETE Mo Farah has revealed that he was smuggled into the United Kingdom as a child, and that his real name is actually Hussein Abdi Kahin.
The long-distance runner has revealed his true identity in a new documentary which is set to air on the BBC, called The Real Mo Farah.
He tells the story of how his father, Abdi, was killed by stray gunfire when Mo was four years old, in civil violence in Somalia. Somaliland declared independence in 1991 but is not internationally recognised.
Mo says he was about eight or nine years old when he was taken from home to stay with family in Djibouti.
He was then flown over to the UK by a woman he had never met and wasn't related to. She told him he was being taken to Europe to live with relatives there - something he says he was "excited" about. "I'd never been on a plane before," he says.
She told him to say his name was Mohamed and used fake travel documents that showed his photo next to the name "Mohamed Farah".
When they arrived in Britain, Farah says the woman took him to her flat in Hounslow in west London and took a piece of paper off of him that had his relatives' contact details.
"Right in front of me, she ripped it up and put it in the bin. At that moment, I knew I was in trouble," he says, before stating he was made to do housework and childcare "if [he] wanted food in [his] mouth".
He also recounts the woman telling him: "If you ever want to see your family again, don't say anything."
Farah had previously said he came to the UK from Somalia with his parents as refugees, but in reality his parents have never been in the UK.
His mother and two brothers still live on their farm in Somaliland.
"For years I just kept blocking it out," the Team GB athlete says, "but you can only block it out for so long", saying that he would regularly lock himself in the bathroom and cry.
The Real Mo Farah airs on BBC One at 9pm on Wednesday, 13 July. Watch the trailer for the documentary below:
