COUCH POTATOES, WAKE UP!

Where did the Helsinki Marathon end?
At the Finnish line.

Why did no one think Cinderella was a serious athlete? Because everybody knew her coach was a pumpkin.

Okay, enough of the quips we are talking Sir Mo. If you are a Bonafide couch potato, you have probably never heard of him, but let us be clear; he is not only one of England’s greatest treasures, he is a supersonic Olympic gold medalist who has done his country proud. Those who know him expect him to win not only because of his larger-than-life aura but because of his capacity to speed down Olympic race tracks with an almost inhuman velocity: “ten global championship gold medals (four Olympic and six World titles) make him the most successful male track distance runner ever, and he is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic games history.” Wikipedia.

A PAINFUL SECRET

Known as Sir Mo, after the Queen knighted him for services rendered to the British Isles, it is clear this is a guy to be reckoned with. His Moon in Cancer accentuates a sensitive nature, but it also makes him tough. No matter how hard-nosed he is, he hid a painful secret, covering up past hurts with a Cheery Chappie Demeanor, something he learned to do when times were hard. He did not want to let on how traumatized he had been as a child. The rays of his sun in Aries inspired pride and his need to deliver on dreams; he wanted to be a winner. Sadly, his family could not help him achieve his ambitions. He had to rise above his challenging circumstances, fight his demons and win first; his capacity to survive ensured he was a champion long before he won those gold medals.
He is now a happy family man, but it was his children who told him to reveal he had been illegally trafficked from an East African country to London at the age of nine by a woman he did not know. He was forced to say his name was Mohamed and do domestic chores. “If you ever want to see your family again, don’t say anything”, the woman insisted.

Alone and loveless, he would lock himself in the bathroom and cry. He was not even allowed to go to school regularly, but when he was eleven, he enrolled in “Year seven at the Feltham Community College” and began to build a semblance of normality. His PE teacher Mr Watkinson spotted there was something odd about a boy who ran around the playground as he could never stop. He realized Mo had sporting potential, so he encouraged him to develop his gift. When the caring teacher discovered there was something wrong at home, however, he contacted social services, removed him from the family who was exploiting him and found him a foster family.

A RADIANT SMILE

Back then, even Sir Mo would never have imagined he would become a British hero and win Gold at the Olympics. However, he did realize it was not impossible to gain some recognition when he joined the Borough of Hounslow Athletics Club in West London, representing Hounslow in the 1994 London Youth Games. Yet, that dark secret continued to haunt him, even though he tried to cover it up with his radiant smile.

He told BBC news the trauma of being a trafficked child conditioned him. “For years, I just kept blocking it out,” His past re-emerged when a woman approached him in a London restaurant. She gave him a tape recording from someone he longed to hug; his Mother, Aisha.
“It wasn’t just a tape,” Sir Mo told BBC News, “It was more of a voice, and then it was singing sad songs for me, like poems or like the traditional song you know. And I would listen to it for days, weeks.”

A SURPRISING URANUS

His mother, who he would reunite with, thought she would never see her son again when she decided to save him from a harsh reality. Their land had been destroyed by a bloody civil war. It was a struggle to stay alive. She wanted him to grow up in a country where he could eat three meals a day and build a good life; but news of Sir Mo’s wins at the Olympics had travelled the world, and his mother would finally rediscover the son she had such hopes for, a son she believed she would never see again.

A surprising Uranus ensures Sir Mo beats the sound barrier when it comes to luck. Extraordinary breakthroughs push his talent along fast. His is a benign Astro influence that draws people to him. He is so friendly; he can relate to hoi polloi and the aristocracy alike. His life has brought him honours and fame, and not only that, he has rediscovered the family he thought he had lost.

It is predicted in his book of life that this amazing man will gain deep spiritual understanding and discover that his destiny is to inspire others. In other words, Sir Mo has not only won our hearts, he has won the biggest prize of all, self-respect.