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Mo Farah, a 4-time Olympic champion, says he was trafficked into the UK as a child in a new BBC documentary

LONDON — Four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah says he was illegally brought to the U.K. as a young boy and forced to care for other children before he escaped a life of servitude through running.In a new documentary, Farah says his real name is Hussein Abdi Kahin and that he was taken from the East African nation of Djibouti. The film that tells the story of his being trafficked, was produced by the BBC and Red Bull Studios, and the BBC is scheduled to broadcast it Wednesday.AdvertisementThe athlete says he was 8 or 9 years old when a woman he didn’t know brought him to Britain using fake travel documents that included his picture alongside the name Mohammed Farah, the BBC reported.The woman took him to an apartment in west London where he was forced to care for her children, Farah said. He wasn’t allowed to go to school until he was 12.Advertisement“I wasn’t treated as part of the family…,” Farah says in the documentary. “If I wanted food in my mouth, my job was to look after those kids — shower them, cook for them, clean for them.”Farah, who represented Britain at three Olympic Games, won gold medals in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter runs at both the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.He previously said he had moved to Britain with his parents as a refugee from Somalia.But in the documentary, he says his parents never were in the U.K. His father was killed by stray gunfire during unrest in Somalia when Farah was 4 years old, according to the film. His mother and two brothers live on the family farm in Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia that is not internationally recognized.Farah says his fortunes changed when he was finally allowed to attend school. A teacher who was interviewed for the documentary recalled a 12-year-old boy who appeared “unkempt and uncared for,” was “emotionally and culturally alienated” and spoke little English.But he began to blossom on the track and eventually told his story to a physical education instructor. The teacher contacted local officials, who arranged for a Somali family to take him in as a foster child.“I still missed my real family, but from that moment everything got better,” Farah said. “I felt like a lot of stuff was lifted off my shoulders, and I felt like me.”Farah said he had feared he would be deported if he spoke about his childhood experiences. He decided to tell his story to publicize and challenge people’s perceptions of human trafficking, he said.Advertisement“I had no idea there was so many people who are going through exactly the same thing that I did,” he said. “It just shows how lucky I was.”Farah was granted U.K. citizenship in 2000 and represented Britain at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2017.An immigration lawyer told the program that there was little risk of the government revoking Farah’s citizenship because he was trafficked as a child. The U.K.’s Home Office did not immediately respond to comment from The Associated Press.Home Office guidance makes clear that the agency assumes a child is not complicit in gaining citizenship by deception, stating: “If the person was a child at the time the fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact was perpetrated, the caseworker should assume that they were not complicit in any deception by their parent or guardian.”If Farah thought the country would turn against him after his revelations, he would be mistaken. Politicians, sports figures and celebrities rushed to offer their support; London Mayor Sadiq Khan praising his courage in coming forward.“Everything Sir Mo has survived proves he’s not only one of our greatest Olympians but a truly great Briton,’’ Khan said on Twitter “@Mo Farah thank you for sharing your story & shining a spotlight on these awful crimes. We must build a future where these tragic events are never repeated.”

Sports

As the Chicago Cubs bullpen racks up innings, the heavy workload is testing the team’s relievers

The All-Star break can’t come soon enough for the Chicago Cubs bullpen.A strength for most of the season, Cubs relievers have been taxed by a rotation marred by injuries and stretches of short outings. Entering Monday, the Cubs’ 368⅓ relief innings ranked second in the majors, one-third of an inning behind the Tampa Bay Rays. No other team had thrown more than 355 innings out of the bullpen.AdvertisementWhile Cubs relievers’ 26.1% strikeout rate ranks fifth, their .246 average against is fifth-worst and their 1.32 home runs per nine innings is second-worst. The Cubs bullpen owns a 15.1% home run per fly ball rate. Those high rates of balls in play can be the difference when a team is involved in as many close games as the Cubs have been this season.Cubs starters haven’t consistently helped their counterparts in the bullpen. Without deeper starts and with a staff restricted to 13 pitchers, the Cubs’ 20% quality start rate — 29th in the majors and 15% below the league average — and 4.6 innings per start, tied for last, put continual pressure on the relievers and allow less margin for error.AdvertisementThe Cubs have held a lead in 31 of their 52 losses, including three of four games while getting swept last week at Dodger Stadium.[ [Don’t miss] How will the Cubs handle Keegan Thompson and Justin Steele as both pitchers near career-high workloads? ]“We hadn’t been where we wanted to a couple of times from a starter’s length standpoint, but the bullpen has picked up the slack really nicely,” manager David Ross said Sunday. “A couple of hiccups here and there, but overall the body of work has been really, really nice.“We’ve asked a lot of those guys and (they) understand where everybody’s at. Some days guys are hanging in and are dealing with little issues, but they continue to take the ball. Really pleased with how they’ve gone about their work and the way they’ve competed.”A day off Monday and the four-day All-Star break next week will provide the bullpen much-needed rest. Right-hander Scott Effross’ 39 appearances are third in the majors, while right-hander Rowan Wick’s 36 outings and 36⅔ innings put him in the top 17 in both categories in the National League.Cubs reliever Scott Effross pitches against the Pirates on May 18, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)Veteran right-hander David Robertson had been one of the Cubs’ most consistent pitchers before blowing two saves in the last week. Robertson, 37, has thrown more innings in the first half than in the previous three years combined because of Tommy John surgery and his recovery.“I’m tired of (stinking) out there, so I’m ready to turn it around and get some outs and not give up any more runs,” Robertson told the Tribune in Los Angeles. “We keep playing these tight one-run games with no room for error, and I just keep making mistake after mistake and can’t get the ball in the strike zone. And then when I do it’s a little too late.”Robertson doesn’t believe his issues are related to mechanics. He attributes his recent inconsistency to his mindset.“When I’ve been in the game, if I make a mistake it’s going to be game tied, so then I ended up walking guys and not making enough competitive pitches earlier in counts,” Robertson explained. “I’ve just got to make some better pitches at better times and be more efficient out there. I’m ready for the break to come, and then we can regroup and start over again.”Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Ian Happ’s 1st All-Star selection completes the Cubs outfielder’s career turnaround: ‘Baseball’s a wild ride’ ]Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.Ross often has relied on the veteran trio of Robertson, Mychal Givens and Chris Martin in late-inning situations. Givens has been on a roll the last three weeks. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last nine games (11 innings) with 12 strikeouts and four walks.Martin also was in a groove between June 17 and July 6, making nine scoreless appearances while recording eight strikeouts with no walks. In two appearances against the Dodgers, he wasn’t as efficient, giving up two runs on four hits, including a home run, though he did not walk a batter.Martin hasn’t issued a walk since May 26. He credits better command and getting ahead in the count for putting him in better positions to be aggressive.Cubs reliever Chris Martin delivers to the Rays on April 19, 2022, at Wrigley Field. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune)Martin, part of the Atlanta Braves bullpen during their World Series title run last year, knows what it takes to succeed in the big leagues in his seventh season. He told the Tribune on Saturday that his right shoulder has been “barking” a little bit.With the workload the Cubs bullpen has taken on, a worn-down relief corps has been challenged lately. Getting right-hander Marcus Stroman and left-hander Drew Smyly back over the weekend should help stabilize the rotation and get more innings out of the starters.“It can get tough when you get in a situation where you’ve been throwing a lot,” Martin said. “You start getting tired and start wearing down a little bit, and I’m kind of going through that right now.Advertisement“I need to mentally lock in and stay focused on pitching instead of worrying about how my body feels and things like that when I’m out there. Just trying to get to that All-Star break right now.”

Sports

4 things we learned as Chicago Blackhawks development camp opened, including why they traded up to draft Sam Rinzel

The newest Chicago Blackhawks didn’t have much time to get the lay of the land before hitting the ice for the opening of development camp Monday at Fifth Third Arena.“You get drafted, you get a call and then they say they’re going to send you your flights the next day,” center Dominic James said. “I don’t know, it’s really awesome, all of it, though. Kind of looked at my jersey, then looked around and had a smile on my face the whole time.”AdvertisementAdded winger Gavin Hayes: “Right when we got drafted, we had to come to Chicago. It was like 6:30 a.m., so been on the go.”As much as it has been a whirlwind for the Hawks’ 11 draft picks and other prospects invited to the weeklong camp, the players aren’t the only ones who had their heads whipped around by the process. It started with general manager Kyle Davidson briskly trading his way into three first-round draft picks Thursday after starting the day with none.Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Meet the newest Blackhawks: A rundown of their 11 picks in the 2022 NHL draft ]“It was obviously some really bold moves and some hard decisions,” Hawks CEO Danny Wirtz said.That included trading fan favorite Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators for the No. 7 pick, used to select defenseman Kevin Korchinski. Forward Frank Nazar, the No. 13 pick, came via the deal that sent Kirby Dach to the Montreal Canadiens, and a swap of picks and cap space with the Toronto Maple Leafs brought a third first-rounder, defenseman Sam Rinzel, at No. 25.DeBrincat said his immediate reaction was shock.“I guess you don’t really think (the trade rumors are) true until it becomes true,” DeBrincat said. “Kind of knew (the rumors) were around for a while and thought there was a possibility to get moved. It doesn’t really hit you until it gets done.“You think about all the good times I had in Chicago and how great they were for me. Definitely sad leaving but a new adventure for me here” in Ottawa.Asked if the wheeling and dealing surprised him — particularly involving DeBrincat — Wirtz said, “Not in the planning process.”“The good thing about Kyle is (he’s) very good and objective about laying out potential scenarios of where things could go, so there’s a lot of scenario work,” Wirtz said. “So by the time you actually get to where you’re now at a decision point, it’s not a big shock other than when it does become real when the trade call goes in to the NHL and it’s, ‘OK, we actually did it.’ But the rationale and all that work and the analysis of it is longer-term.”[ [Don’t miss] Column: The Blackhawks may look unrecognizable next season without Alex DeBrincat — but will it be worth it? ]Still, it’s bittersweet parting with players such as DeBrincat and Dach.Advertisement“Luckily Kyle can really separate that, but it’s hard to see a player go, especially one that’s beloved,” Wirtz said. “I balance that with this tremendous excitement for especially the three players that were drafted in the first round Thursday, seeing them and getting to know them a little bit. And then now seeing them here at development camp, that gets you excited too.“So it helps balance it out because it’s a sting, but like anything you find some balance and a lot to get excited about.”Here are four things we learned on the first day of camp.The selection of Rinzel at No. 25 raised some eyebrows. Some pundits had pegged the Hawks as a suitor for the defenseman — but in the second round, particularly because much of his playing experience came in high school. The Hawks said they believed the Minnesota Wild and others were eyeing him.Rinzel had a take on why he rose up draft boards.Advertisement“I was a late bloomer a little bit, kind of growing into my strengths and growing height-wise,” the 6-foot-4 Rinzel said. “But I was able to get out there and I think people were noticing me a little bit.”Hawks management wanted to add some size, and five of the players in camp this week are at least 6-6.Louis Crevier, a 6-8 defenseman drafted in 2020, finally met his match in center Riku Tohila, a seventh-round pick.While they’re on the extreme end, the Hawks did gain size with first-rounders Korchinski (6-2) and Rinzel (6-4).Korchinski said steady growth helped his skating “tremendously.”“I just got taller and stronger and just able to balance out my stride, get kind of bigger strides, more explosive,” he said. “I guess you could say I didn’t really have a big growth spurt, more just rapid, gradually growing. I was 5-9 in bantam and just grew an inch or two every year.”Advertisement[ [Don’t miss] Column: Uncertain futures of Patrick Kane and Willson Contreras are just the way of the world in the age of the rebuild ]As part of the trade package the Hawks received for DeBrincat, Korchinski naturally will be judged by fans on whether drafting him was worth giving away an All-Star.Korchinski would like to win over Chicago, but he put the DeBrincat connection in perspective.“Puts a little bit more pressure (on me), but I’m just worried about myself and improving every day and winning every day,” he said. “I know what kind of hockey player I am, I’m confident in my abilities, so for me it’s just winning each day and getting to the level I want to be at.”Nazar, acquired in the Dach deal, said having two other Hawks drafted in the first round creates an automatic support system.Chicago Tribune SportsWeekdaysA daily sports newsletter delivered to your inbox for your morning commute.“It helps a bit knowing they’re going through the same process that I am and know they’re going through the same troubles,” he said. “It’s cool, we’ve talked about it a little bit.” Draft pick Frank Nazar says people nicknamed him “Frank Sinatra” because “I do it my way,” but he’s open to suggestions from Blackhawks fans. pic.twitter.com/IobJMogVmP— Phillip Thompson (@_phil_thompson) July 11, 2022

Some of the Hawks picks punctuated their draft day by talking up their game and making comparisons to established players.AdvertisementSavoie, a winger picked in the third round, said he sees a bit of Brad Marchand in himself.“Marchand’s a guy who likes to go under people’s skin. That’s what I do and I like it,” he said.But Savoie knows there’s a fine line between confident and cocky, especially for players starting their careers.“Confident, you can still be humble,” he said. “It’s more of you’re confident, you know you’re good, you’re here, obviously there’s some good players around you and you know that there’s better players than you too. To be confident (is necessary) just to have a little flow.“I think cocky is thinking you’re better than everyone and you’re thinking you’re better than yourself.”