The prodigal son of St Mary’s University, Sir Mo Farah, returned to last week to unveil an athletics track named in his honour.

The university, in Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, celebrated the return of its most famous alumnus on Thursday, February 16. Sir Mo also spoke to young athletes from the borough, as well as current St Mary’s athletes.

Having won two Gold medals at each of the last two Olympic games, Sir Mo has remained unbeaten on the track at major international championships since 2011.

Sir Mo said: “It is such an honour to be here today and to have this track named after me.

“I have very fond memories of my time here as I developed from being a talented junior to a world-class athlete.

“I really hope that these facilities continue to inspire the next generation of young British athletes.”

Sir Mo trained at St Mary’s between 2001 and 2011, where he was awarded a scholarship to the endurance performance and coaching centre (EPACC).

He continued to train regularly at the facility until he moved to Oregon, in the United States.

St Mary’s vice-chancellor Francis Campbell said he hoped the track would inspire future generations of athletes to “expand on the accomplishments” of Sir Mo.

He said: “To have something named after you is a tremendous recognition of one’s achievements.

“Whilst Mo has set the bar very high, I am sure that the naming of our athletics track will inspire our current and future generations of student athletes to go out and achieve all they can on the world stage.”

The Sir Mo Farah Athletics track welcomed ten nations during London 2012, in addition to countless other leading international athletes.

As the home to St Mary’s EPACC, it has helped train numerous distance runners who have been selected to compete at Olympic level, yielding 35 selections across the last four games.

St Mary’s director of sport Andrew Reid-Smith said: “Mo was the first runner on the St Mary’s endurance programme. He trained at the university for ten years on his way to becoming one of the greatest distance runners ever.

“We are very proud of Mo’s achievements and it is a fitting tribute that the track, one that he’s spent so much time on and that supports beginners, talented athletes and GB runners alike, is being named after him.”