Sir Mo Farah revealed his true identity this week in a string of revelations about his past.
The long-distance legend has disclosed in a BBC documentary that he was brought into the UK illegally at the age of nine under the name of another child.
The four-time Olympic champion, whose real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin, said "The truth is I’m not who you think I am”, adding he needs to tell his real story "whatever the cost” in the documentary titled The Real Mo Farah.
The 39-year-old father-of-four has hailed his incredibly supportive PE teacher at school - Alan Watkinson - for changing his life.
He was the only one he felt he could confide in - and later went on to apply for Sir Mo’s British citizenship.
So who is Mr Watkinson? And how did their close bond form? Here, we take a look at how the teacher helped him ahead of tonight’s The Real Mo Farah on BBC One.
How they met
Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here
Sir Mo, who was born in Somaliland, was smuggled by traffickers to the UK after his father was killed in the civil war.
He was brought with false documents to work in domestic servitude for a family.
Speaking in the new documentary, the athlete says: "If I wanted food in my mouth my job was to look after those kids, shower them, cook for them, clean for them, and she said, 'If you ever wanna see your family again, don't say anything'."
After being prevented from attending school for two years, he was eventually allowed to attend Feltham Community College in South West London at the age of 11 - where PE teacher Alan Watkinson worked.
They first met in a javelin lesson.
Looking back on the encounter, Alan told Careers in Sport in 2017: “He arrived at the school a couple of weeks late because he’d broken his arm playing football in the summer holidays.
“My first contact with him was in a javelin lesson, which obviously requires stern and strict safety regulations.
“I had 29 kids sat on the floor and Mo was swinging from a football goal post!”
After recognising Mo’s talent, the schoolboy felt he could finally confide in someone.
In the documentary, Alan says: "Mo told me he wasn’t the son of the person he was living with – that his name wasn’t Mohamed Farah, [and that] he was removed from his family, that he was given a new identity and brought here to do jobs and chores. That was quite shocking to hear."
The PE teacher contacted social services and helped Mo to be fostered by another Somali family - and Kinsi, the mum of a Somali schoolfriend, agreed to take him in.
He lived with the family for seven years.
Alan recalls this time as heralding a "remarkable transformation" for Mo, adding: "We’d had good runners before but the progress from there was stratospheric."
"The only language he seemed to understand was the language of PE and sport," he adds.
Mo says sport was a lifeline for him as "the only thing I could do to get away from this [living situation] was to get out and run".
How Alan helped Mo
At 14, when Mo was selected to compete for English schools at a race in Latvia, it became apparent he did not have the right documentation to travel abroad.
In response, Alan went above and beyond and applied for Mo’s British citizenship – which he described as a “long process”.
On July 25, 2000, Mo was then recognised as a British citizen.
Showing the box of documents he has kept since then, Alan explains: “We just bombarded them.”
In the documentary, barrister Allan Briddock explains to Mo that his nationality was technically "obtained by fraud or misrepresentations".
But the Home Office has said that no action will be taken over how he obtained his nationality - as it was assumed a child was not complicit when citizenship was gained by deception.
Speaking to journalist Amol Rajan alongside his wife Tania, Mo says: "It makes me relieved. This is my country.
"If it wasn’t for Alan and the people who supported me throughout my childhood then maybe I wouldn’t even have the courage to do this.
"There’s a lot of people that I owe my life to, particularly my wife who has been very supportive throughout my career, and who gave me the strength to come and talk about it, telling me it’s okay to do this.”
What is their relationship like now?
Since Alan met Mo almost three decades ago when he was just a child, the pair have remained good friends.
When Mo married his wife Tania Nell in 2010, Alan was his best man.
He also collected his Freedom of the Borough of Hounslow award on his behalf in 2012.
In his speech, the runner acknowledged his former PE teacher, adding: "Finally, through either luck or fate I met Alan Watkinson who has had such a large impact on my life.
"Without all of these events, places and people I would not have become the man/athlete that I am today."
In 2012, Mo became the first Brit to win both the 10,000m and 5,000m at the Games.
At the time, a jubilant Alan told the Mirror: “I didn’t cry on the night. But then I saw the front page of the Sunday Mirror and tears started streaming down my face.
“I texted Mo to say how proud I was,” said Alan. “He’s become like royalty.”
The proud teacher was recognised for his efforts later that year, winning The Pride of Britain's 'Teacher of The Year' award - of course with Sir Mo by his side.
Do you have a story to share? Email webfeatures@trinitymirror.com
The Real Mo Farah will air at 6am on BBC iPlayer and 9pm on BBC One on July 13.
