- Omar Farah was jailed after the riots but his double gold medalist brother stood by him
- He said while Mo was busy training for the Olympics, he was going off the rails, mixing with the wrong crowds
- Now the star is now helping him to rebuild his life
By Amanda Williams
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The brother of Olympic hero Mo Farah has today spoken out about his criminal past.
Omar Farah, 20, who was arrested during the 2011 riots and jailed, said he was forced to live in a hostel when he was homeless and had no money, but that his double gold medalist brother stood by him when he was in a young offenders unit.
Now, the star is helping his younger brother to re-build his life.
The brother of Olympic hero Mo Farah has today spoken out about his criminal past
Omar, who has admitted regularly smoking cannabis, told the Sunday Mirror that Mo?s gold success at London 2012 ? where he won the 5,000m and 10,000m titles for Great Britain ? had provided the inspiration for him to stay out of trouble with the police.
He said the experience of being in the young offenders unit made him never want to go back, adding that he did not want to 'doss around and get in trouble with the police.'
He said while Mo was busy training for the Olympics, he was going off the rails, mixing with the wrong crowds.
Omar said he was caught up in the riots in August 2011 - which saw London erupt into violence and thousands of shops looted -? and was arrested and charged with using or threatening violence to others near Brentford, West London.
He appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court and was remanded in custody at Feltham Young Offender Institution.
But famous athlete Mo gave his brother his full support while he was in prison although they decided that their relationship should stay a secret over concerns for Omar's safety.
Omar revealed that Mo gave him his full support while he was locked up. But they ?decided between them that his relationship to the famous athlete had to remain secret over fears for his safety in the unit.
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Omar says his arrest was his lowest moment but maintains he was just in 'the wrong place at the wrong time' and that when he was arrested in Brentford he was just running and was not part of the mob 'running riot'. He said: 'I just ran because everyone else started running.'
He said it was 'scary' inside the unit in Feltham but he managed to keep his identity quiet.
Omar told his older brother he was innocent and he said he?d stick by him.
He added: 'But he gave me a little talk when I got put in remand and he said, ?If you actually did do it, just ride your time, get out, and just change your life."'
It was these words which inspired him to change.?
Omar was cleared of the charges after four weeks inside.
Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford pose after they won the men's 10,000m and men's long jump respectively. Omar said Mo's gold success at London 2012 had provided the inspiration for him to stay out of trouble with the police
However, after his release he was homeless and ended up in a hostel in Shepherds Bush in West London where he had to share a room with around 30 other people.
He stayed there for four and a half months but Mo still tried to help.
Omar admitted to the paper he was a regular user of cannabis but strongly denies being a drug dealer and said he had never been in 'serious trouble - just the riots'.
He said his brother was never into drugs - all he wanted to do was run.
Omar was born in 1992, a year after his father Mukhtar left Africa for a new life in Britain with Somalia-born Mo, who was eight and could not speak a word of English.
Mukhtar was forced to leave his wife and three of their six children behind in the African state of Djibouti which borders Somalia.
Within a few months of settling into West London, Mukhtar, an IT consultant, met Omar?s mother Fosiya Mohamed.
Mo has always stayed close to his family,? including his twin Hassan and full brother, also called Omar.
Half-brother Omar said he was in touch with Mo during last summer's Olympics and was at the stadium to watch him triumph in the 10,000-metre.
Omar said his brother would be excited to collect his CBE and was a big fan of the Queen - and was even going to make a joke about her jumping out the helicopter and get her to do the Mobot.?
While Mo lives in Oregon, in the United States, in a large four-bedroom house with his wife Tania, their newborn twin girls Aisha and Amani and seven-year-old step-daughter Rihanna, Omar lives in a two-bedroom flat in West London.
But the pair are in regular contact, with Mo making sure he stays out of trouble, while Omar plans to visit his brother later this year.?
He said his brother was always encouraging him to go running and suggested he should go to America to be his water boy and help him out.
Omar said Mo - who likes watching snooker, cartoons, and Emmerdale -? is devoted to his large extended family and has remained grounded despite his success and fame.
He said buying him something for Christmas was one of the hardest things he had to do but that gave him some shoes he used to run in, but thought that he had lost them.
He cleaned them up and gave them back to him, which he loved.
Omar said that Mo?s incredible achievements have inspired him to turn his own life around and he recently found a job as a trainee graphic designer.
He said: 'His success has inspired me to do something with my life.'
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