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Mo Farah, Britain’s Olympic gold medalist detained at U.S. airport on terror suspicion
Britain’s Mo Farah wins gold medal in 5000m and the London Olympic Games. PHOTO/Stu Forster/Getty Images
Britain’s Mo Farah – the two-time gold medal winner for Great Britain at this past summer’s Olympic games was traveling in Oregon and was detained and questioned by U.S. Customs officials after they noticed his Somali ancestry.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Farah said. “Because of my Somali origin, I get detained every time I come through US Customs. This time I even got my medals out to show who I am, but they wouldn’t have it.”
Mo Farah, was born in Somalia but moved to Britain with his English-born father as a child at age 8. He won the 5000m and 10,000m races this summer in London. Last year, he moved to Oregon in the United States to train with the legendary Alberto Salazar at the headquarters of Nike.
This was not the first time Farah has had difficulties with immigration; a previous attempt to get a residency visa saw him detained on terrorist suspicion with the threat of being barred from entering the country for 90 days.