Olympic gold medalist Mo Farrah held in Oregon on suspicion of being a terrorist

Mo Farrah held by US customs; was under investigation on suspicion of being a terrorist

11:41 02 January 2013

Mo Farrah, the Team GB hero, who won two gold medals at the Olympics and today’s one of the world’s most famous athletes, was held in Portland, Oregon on suspicion of being a terrorist. He was hauled off for questioning after boarder guards discovered that he was born in Somalia.

Mo Farrah, found the whole incident “unbelievable.” He said: “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.”

Mo, who moved to Portland, Oregon last year to work at Nike’s HQ to work with legendary trainer Alberto Salazar, said that this wasn’t the first time he had trouble getting to US. 

 

He said: “When we tried to get a residency visa, Nike obviously signed it all off and we thought it was going to be straightforward.

 

“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.”

 

He added: “As luck would have it Alberto has a friend who works for the FBI. This guy happens to be a massive running fan, knew exactly who I was and got it sorted then and there.

 

“God knows what would have happened if he didn’t. We’d probably still be in Toronto.”