St Mary's student stories
Discover what St Mary's means to Britain's most successful track athlete...
Mo Farah trained at St Mary’s from 2001-2011, where he was awarded a scholarship to the Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre (EPACC).
Mo was one of the founding EPACC athletes and has since gone on to be the most successful alumnus of the Centre.
Mo's first Olympic appearance was at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Unfortunatley, he didn't manage to qualify for the final of the 5000m.
Mo continued to train regularly here at St Mary's until he moved to Oregon, USA.
Mo became as household name when he won gold medals for the 5000m and 10,000m at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
In December 2012, Mo was inducted into the St Mary's University Hall of Fame for Sport.
Also inducted that day was Matt Wells , another former student who won a bronze medal in the rowing.
Between all of Mo's successes, he continued to visit St Mary's to train and support others.
In 2014, whilst vising the London Marathon Young Athlete Camp, Mo took part in the Ice Bucket Challenge.
At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Mo retained his 5000m and 10,000m gold medals.
The wins cemented Mo as the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.
In 2017, the athletics track at St Mary's was renamed the 'Sir Mo Farah Athletics Track.'
Mo returned to the University for the official naming ceremony.
Later that year Mo won the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Mo received his award live at St Mary’s University, with his family at his side.
Mo, now based in the UK again, can sometimes be found training on the track that now bears his name.
Recently Mo teamed up with fellow St Mary’s alumnus Joe Wicks for the 'Mo Farah breaks the Body Coach' YouTube video Mo Farah with Joe Wicks on the St Mary's track.
Have a question? Contact us.
Browser does not support script.