Somali Olympians not seeking asylum

• Tweet

LONDON, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- An Olympic runner from Somalia denied reports he and a teammate were seeking political asylum in the United Kingdom.

Mohamed Hassan Mohamed told the BBC this weekend both he and Zamzam Mohamed Farah planned to return to Somalia after Sunday's closing ceremony despite threats from Islamic militants.

Mohamed said the pair would go back to Mogadishu this week despite public warnings from al-Shabaab, a militant group with links to al-Qaida that opposes so-called Westernized activities such as sports.

Farah has been singled out in particular because she is a woman. Even though she considers herself an observant Muslim, Farah has been targeted with repeated threats for supposedly "exposing" herself on the track and carrying the Somali flag.

"My parents have also been called and were informed that what I did was not a good thing and that once I return, I will be dealt with," Farah recently told Universal TV in London.

Farah denied her Olympic career was a quest for personal glory. "I am not going for pride," she told Universal. "I will be representing my flag, my soil and its people."