Sir Mo Farah nabs phone thieves after chasing down their getaway van

Sir Mo Farah probably thought his racing days were behind him.

But the retired Olympic distance runner has proved he still has formidable athletic skills – by successfully chasing down the getaway van of two thieves who swiped his mobile phone.

The four-times gold medallist sprang into action after the crooks struck while he was out running with his wife Tania last week, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The couple were enjoying a leisurely jog through the wealthy 964-acre gated community where they live when, comforted by the extensive security on site, Sir Mo decided to leave his device at the side of a private road, intending to collect it at the end of his run.

But moments later, the former 10,000 and 5,000-metre champ spotted a large white van, which seemed out of place compared to the top-of-the-range sports cars and SUVs that are usually seen on the exclusive estate.

The vehicle, which had two men inside, pulled up to allow one of them to grab the phone from the path before driving off.

But they hadn’t realised who they were up against.

Showing what one onlooker described as the ‘Olympic speed’ of a top sprinter, Sir Mo, 41, turned on his competitive spirit and took off at ‘full throttle’.

He gave chase along the tree-lined streets as his wife looked on and soon caught up with the hapless thieves, who immediately realised who they were dealing with. Chastened, they handed the phone back before speeding off.

Sir Mo is said to be furious about how the suspects were able to get past the extensive 24-hour security detail, which is supposed to restrict access to the Surrey estate at all times. A source told The Mail on Sunday that an investigation had been launched into what went wrong

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Sir Mo declined to comment last night. The athlete, one of the UK’s greatest ever runners, announced his retirement after he finished fourth at Tyneside’s Great North Run in September last year, a race he had won a record six times.

He became a household name after winning gold in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres at the 2012 London Olympics – thanks in no small part to his distinctive ‘Mobot’ celebration.

He repeated his double-gold winning success in Rio in 2016 and also has six world athletic championship titles and five European titles to his name.

Sir Mo was named BBC Sports Personality Of The Year in 2017 and was a campmate in the 2020 series of ITV’s I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here.

Born in Somalia, he revealed that he had been trafficked to the UK as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant. His father was killed in civil violence when he was just four.

Sir Mo has been married to Tania, a keen amateur long-distance runner since 2010. He had known her since childhood, when they attended the same West London running club.

He is understood to have recently put his eight-bedroom mansion up for sale for around £6 million. It features a luxurious outdoor swimming pool – and even has a treadmill in the lounge.

All the better, of course, to keep in shape to chase petty criminals.