Olympic champion Mo Farah has celebrated his victory by dedicating his each of his four gold medals to his children. HELLO! magazine was invited to the athlete's home in Portland, Oregon, in the USA, to capture the first pictures of Mo, wife Tania and their four children with their medals – two from the recent Rio Games and two from London 2012. Chatting to HELLO! in August 2016, Mo said: "I could never have dreamed that I'd get four golds." The doting dad made history by becoming the first man in 40 years to win gold medals in the 10,000m and 5,000 races at consecutive Olympic Games, a feat that has seen him hailed Britain's greatest track and field athlete ever.
Mo Farah spoke to HELLO! following his Olympic victory
In an exclusive interview, the 33-year-old tells how he pledged his two medals from London 2012 to his twin daughters Aisha and Amani, who were born less than a fortnight after the Games ended. He decided to dedicate his medals from Rio to his eldest girl Rihanna, 11, and 10-month-old Hussein. "I won these medals for my children," he says. And while Mo is regarded as a hero by his legion of fans, his children ensure that he stays grounded. His twins in particular, he says, were unfazed by his success. "As soon as I saw them [after Rio], they just wanted to show me their new bed. Hussein was the one who had changed the most. He has got so big. I’ve loved spending time with them."
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Mo won two gold medals in Rio
Addressing widespread calls for him to be knighted, Mo says: "It would be amazing. It would be good if I could get the word ‘Sir' on my passport. It might get me through passport control quicker. There have got to be some perks." His wife, meanwhile, jokes that she "loves the sound of Lady Farah". Meeting the royal family is something Mo would love to do too. "It would be amazing to meet the royal family," he says, who was born in war-torn Somalia but moved to the UK at the age of eight. He is always quick to drape himself in the Union flag after a win. “When the twins see the British flag they go ‘That’s daddy’s flag,'" he says. Explains 30-year-old Tania: “They think it belongs to him and haven’t figured out that it belongs to the rest of the nation."
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Since they've flown home after Mo's double win, the Farahs have been enjoying "normal family life" and Mo has been able to relax a little. He chats to HELLO! while eating a breakfast of Nutella on toast. "Last night we had pizza for the twins’ birthday," he says. While Mo is away, super-organised Tania takes care of the family. "I don’t know how she does it,” he says. Explains Tania: "We’ve gone from one child to four in the last five years, so it’s definitely been so much harder than before 2012. I think that’s why this year meant so much more to us. He’s coming to the end of his career, he’s that much older. “We’ve been tested along the way this year so many times. But we just dug our heels in and said, ‘We’re not letting this go,’ and that is what got Mo over the finish line, just that determination."
