Double Olympic champion Mo Farah has said he has been questioned by US border officials on suspicion of being a terrorist. The team GB star even got out his two gold medals to show the customs officers who he was, but to no avail.
Farah, who was born in Somalia and moved to Britain with his father when he was eight, was detained as he was heading to Portland, Oregon, to spend Christmas with his family.
He moved to America last year to work with his coach, marathon champion Alberto Salazar, at the Nike headquarters.
Despite his international fame, the long distance runner revealed he often gets stopped at customs because of his Somali origin.
Farah, aged 29, told The Sun: “I couldn’t believe it. 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.”
The 10,000m and 5,000m Olympic champion also told the newspaper how he had trouble applying for a residency permit to live in Portland.
“We were in Portland on a tourist visa so had to leave and re-enter the country as a resident.
“So we flew to Toronto to stay for a few days, then come back in.
“But when we were there we got a letter telling us we’re under investigation as a terrorist threat and we would have to stay away for 90 days.
“We had only packed four days’ worth of clothes. We didn’t know what to do.”
Luckily, Farah’s coach had a friend in the FBI, who happened to be a fan of long distance running and knew of Mo, who sorted it out for him.
Source : Orange
