Mo Farah: Why Is He Joining I’m A Celeb?
The gold medallist has just revealed that he will be going into the castle for this year’s I’m A Celeb but what do we actually know about Mo Farah?
Image Source/ Runner’s World
Why is he joining the TV show?
Mo is joining campmates Vernon Kay, Giovanna Fletcher and Beverley Callard to name a few, hoping to be named King or Queen of the castle.
The runner is also joining fellow gold medallist Hollie Arnold in the castle. The pair are planning to compete in next year’s delayed Tokyo games but the quality of their training during the show has been questioned.
However, a spokesperson for British Athletics told BBC Sports:
‘We trust in them and their support networks to make the right decisions around their preparations before the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics’.
Image Source/ Instagram
What do we know about Mo Farah’s personal life?
In April 2010, Mo married Tania Nell, his longterm girlfriend.
Together, the pair have twin daughters Aisha and Amani who were born in 2012, their son Hussein was born in 2015 and Tania also has a daughter, Rihanna, from a previous relationship.
Although, there has been some hardships in the Farah family.
For example, Mo himself has a twin brother, Hassan but the pair were separated when they were just eight years old. The whole of the Farah family were supposed to join Mo’s father in the UK but on the day of travel, Hassan was unwell and couldn’t travel so stayed behind with family.
The boys’ father went back to collect Hassan, but his new family had moved and no one could locate them. In the end, the twins were separated for twelve years!
What exactly has Mo won?
The long-distance runner is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.
Mo won gold medals at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics in both the 5000m and 10,000m races.
He also won the ‘distance double’ at both the 2013 and 2015 World Championships in athletics.
Mo is the first person in history to defend all titles in both global competitions which is often referred to as the ‘quadruple double’.
He currently holds the world record for the one hour run and another for the indoor two mile run.
He also is the European record holder for the two miles, marathon, half marathon and 10,000m.
What’s his connection to Alberto Salazar?
Alberto Salazar is often cited to be the changing force in Mo’s career as when Alberto began coaching Mo, he became the athlete we now know him as.
However, Alberto has been linked to doping some of his clients and Mo has been investigated by the US anti-doping agency, especially in regards to the 2014 London Marathon.
Video Source/ YouTube
In 2017 Mo broke off his relationship with Alberto but has never explicitly stated that the allegations were the main reason for this decision.
Alberto Salazar has since been banned for four years from athletics.