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Olympic champion Mo Farah runs away from things, becomes a meme

The runner known as "Mobot" is a hero in Great Britain and online.

 

Kris Holt

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Posted on Aug 13, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 12:57 pm CDT

If there’s one thing Great Britain took away from the Olympic Games, it’s a new national hero: Mo Farah. The 29-year-old took top honors in the 5,000m and 10,000m men’s races at the London Games. Now, Farah has reached Internet infamy as well, with two memes devoted to the track star.

The first was popularized by the man himself. By touching his head with both hands and creating an “M” shape with his arms, the “Mobot” became a sensation in the U.K. On Aug. 4, the night of his 10,000m triumph, “Mobot” was mentioned 12,030 times on Twitter according to Topsy.

A week later, a repeat triumph in the 5,000m discipline brought more Mobot action from Farah, and 20,768 mentions of the term on Twitter. You know you’ve made it when you can trade poses with Usain Bolt.

The second Farah meme is even better. His facial expressions as he thundered towards the finish line in his races became glorious GIF fodder. It seems surprising then that it took until Sunday for the terrific Mo Farah Running Away From Things Tumblr blog to pop up.

Photo via Mo Farah Running Away From Things

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*First Published: Aug 13, 2012, 1:12 pm CDT