Mo Farah: How close have you come to death?

Originally asked

The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A

A recurring Guardian Q&A prompt asked directly across respondents and years.

You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.

Recorded Mo Farah said elsewhere, not written here

When I was a kid, travelling from Ethiopia to the UK, the plane door opened, the oxygen masks came down and the plane did an emergency landing in Egypt.

The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 27 April 2019 source ↗

Others on this question

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Walton Goggins

After a significant traumatic experience when I was looking for reasons to stay alive.

Recorded The Q&A, The Guardian, 10 May 2025 source ↗

Ram Dass Spiritual teacher and author

I was close to death, and I didn't rush into my spirit. I spent the time in the hospital just looking at the pipes on the ceiling. ... I failed because this was a trauma, a trauma, and I'm not reacting to it spiritually.

Recorded Ross Simonini, The Believer, issue 115, by Skype from Hawaii, 20 November 2017 source ↗

Yann Tiersen Pianist, composer

Yes! With my fiancée about two years ago, we were biking in the Sinkyone Wilderness State Park in California and we were stalked by a mountain lion for hours… It really changed my perception! But you know, they’re peaceful cats, there wasn’t any anger or aggression — that’s just the way it is in nature. It’s good sometimes to realize you can die! The experience made me realize that you have to know where you are, and know that the place you’re in is alive.

Recorded The Talks, 6 May 2016 source ↗

Ed Harris American actor and director