Mo Farah........Rich Uncle Pennybags?

He moved to the UK when he was 8 and speaks in an east London accent, the only African thing about him is he's black. He's no more African than Famiglietti is italian

Fam moved to the U.S. at age 8?

urnuts wrote:

He moved to the UK when he was 8 and speaks in an east London accent, the only African thing about him is he's black. He's no more African than Famiglietti is italian

urnuts wrote:

He moved to the UK when he was 8 and speaks in an east London accent, the only African thing about him is he's black. He's no more African than Famiglietti is italian

ANTHONY FAMIGLIETTI

Born: November 8, 1978 in Medford, (Long Island) N.Y., USA

MO FARAH

Born: Mogadishu, Somalia

What he is trying to say is that he wasn't brought up in high altitude, didn't run to school etc. All the things that make Africans the dominant force they are.

I wanna wrote:

What he is trying to say is that he wasn't brought up in high altitude, didn't run to school etc. All the things that make Africans the dominant force they are.

exactly-what difference does it make where someone is born? people don't even REMEMBER being born! He grew up in the UK, speaks English as his 1st language, got into running in the UK..he's British.

and both his parents are african.

The dog (bitch) gave birth to pups in the stable this morning, it doesn't make them horses!

Old McDonald wrote:

The dog (bitch) gave birth to pups in the stable this morning, it doesn't make them horses!

...but if brought up by the horses may consider themself a horse...

So what anyhow.... Mo is a terrific, down to earth, human being, who trains bloody hard and has had to work hard for everything, couldn't have been easy moving over to the UK when he was 8, not being able to speak a word of English.

The boys done well and hasn't had it handed on a plate. Mo do us all proud at the Worlds this year!

I wanna wrote:

What he is trying to say is that he wasn't brought up in high altitude, didn't run to school etc. All the things that make Africans the dominant force they are.

This just goes to show that African supremacy is 100% genetic, nothing to do with the Kenyan/Ethiopian lifestyle, harder training, etc

there have been loads of british juniors with much talent as he has but few of them have shown his dedication and committment.

and his physiology, biochemistry and genetics....

oh dear wrote:

and his physiology, biochemistry and genetics....

...oh of course, so all the Somalian boys in London, who all came over here when they were 8 years old, all have the potential to run 13.09..... UK athletics should get down to Ealing then and start recruiting... get real!

Mo has had to work bloody hard to get where he is, he's a good kid, determined and driven. Time spent living with the Kenyan's obviously gave him the kick start he needed, as well as training with Mottram. The UK population is proud of you MO, as I'm sure is Somalia!

I guarantee that UK Athletics would gain a few great distance guys if they were to start recruiting from Somalia.

Believe it or not, other countries are already doing it. Qatar and Bahrain have been sandbagging off of East African talent for years.

If you think E. Africans are better runners solely because they "work bloody hard," you've got some thinking to do.

I agree with you. Isn't there a case that MF is v talented; great attitude and commitment; v well coached and advised; tip top back up from UKA/EIS. And - unless someone can confirm that he was raised at sea level prior to coming to the UK - that he carries some slight advantage from living at altitude from birth to age 8/9.

To avoid using MF as a case history one way or another, in February 2001 I saw a skinny raw 17 year old who'd come about 5th in his Kenyan regional XC champs place I think 5th again in the Kenyan U20 XC champs. Just 2.5 years later he ran a track 10k which at 26.30 sits 4th on the All time lists.

Last October we briefly put up a Kenyan guy who was a solid 62 min 1/2 marathoner. Within 6 months, sub 59.

If there's any evidence that sea level guys can make these sort of improvements to this sort of level, can someone please provide it.

xfghfgsh wrote:

I guarantee that UK Athletics would gain a few great distance guys if they were to start recruiting from Somalia.

Believe it or not, other countries are already doing it. Qatar and Bahrain have been sandbagging off of East African talent for years.

If you think E. Africans are better runners solely because they "work bloody hard," you've got some thinking to do.

....we're talking somalian athletes from Ealing that have been living over here for 15 years, not heading over to Somalia....

As for E. Africans vs. the rest, great lad. Difference being, Mohamed has been living in the UK since he was 8. Therefore he's not your typical East African origin athlete - benefit of waking up 3000 feet above sea level every day, he lives and has done for a number of years at sea level and works and trains hard, period. Its a joke how a lot of people try to put his success down to an almost unfair advantage, the boy's track sessions are incredible.

Mogadishu, where Mo was born, how far above sea level is it, what is the altitude? I actually heard it is relatively flat there?

It has nothing to do with altitude.

Mogadishu, Somalia (Mo Farah's birthplace) is at sea level.

Plain and simple: Many tribes in E. Africa, by means of natural selection, have EVOLVED bodies which are more suited to long distance running. They are born with a higher percentage of slow twitch muscle fibers, and the bone/musculature in their lower legs is thinner and less bulky, allowing superb running economy.

There are many theories as to how this has happened.

One way or another; you take what God has given you and you do the best you can. Many athletes have the discipline and dedication it takes to become great. Not all have the genes.

xfghfgsh wrote:

Many athletes have the discipline and dedication it takes to become great. Not all have the genes.

many more have the genes than have the dedication!