For many he is Britain’s greatest ever athlete having accumulated 10 global titles which includes the ‘double double’ of gold medals over 5,000m and 10,000m at both the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. He holds numerous European and British Records and has the World Best for the One Hour Run (21,330m).
His achievements are a far cry from his humble beginnings in Somaliland, arriving in London at the age of 8 and speaking very little English. Mo grew up in West London and began running at school when spotted by his PE teacher, who saw potential in his young student.
His breakthrough year came in 2006 when taking victory at the European Cross Country Championships. His career then took another step forward in 2010 with a 5,000m and 10,000m golden double at the European Athletics Championships. Just weeks later he made history by becoming the first British athlete to run the 5,000m in under 13 minutes.
During the 2011 season, Sir Mo became Britain’s first 5,000m world champion.
At the London 2012 Olympics, Sir Mo rounded off ‘Super Saturday’ by winning Great Britain’s first Olympic gold medal in the 10,000m. He completed the long-distance double at the Games by also taking the 5,000m title.
In the years that followed, Sir Mo continued winning long distance doubles at World and European Championships. He secured his legacy at the 2016 Rio Olympics by winning both the 5,000m and 10,000m gold medals. He is a dedicated family man who lives in Surrey with his wife and their four children and he famously dedicated each of his four Olympic gold medals to his four children.
Sir Mo was knighted in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to athletics.
From the track, Sir Mo transitioned onto the roads and targeted the marathon. This new challenge started with a third placed finish and new British record at the 2018 London Marathon. He then secured victory and a new European record of 2:05:11 at the 2018 Chicago Marathon.
He won the Great North Run for six consecutive years between 2014-2019.
Sir Mo is passionate about philanthropic work and is a Save the Children Ambassador and the first ever global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Organisation for Migration. At the start of 2024 he became the National School Sport Champion for the Youth Sport Trust, embarking on ‘Mo’s Mission’ to encourage young people to be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day.
