Running 'saved me': Olympic star Sir Mo Farah reveals he was trafficked as a child

“I feel like something’s been lifted off of my shoulders.” Finally speaking his truth, Olympic legend Sir Mohamed “Mo" Farah shared that he was taken from his family and trafficked to the U.K. at the age of 9 in BBC’s upcoming documentary, The Real Mo Farah.  In the documentary, Farah sheds light on his harsh childhood, during which he says a woman took him from his family in Somalia and allegedly forced him to live in domestic servitude in the U.K.

But that’s not all: The four-time Olympic gold medalist also shared that his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin. Farah, a father of four, said he decided to share his story at “whatever the cost” due to encouragement from his children. He noted that he taught them to always be truthful and wanted to uphold those values despite fear of the consequences, which has held him back all these years.

“Most people know me as Mo Farah but it’s not my name or it’s not the reality,” he said.