Ahmed finds the right finish in men’s 5,000
OTTAWA Mo Ahmed seemed to take it easy for a while, but he took care of business when the time came.
The 26-year-old runner from St. Catharines, Ont., displayed a devastating finishing kick on the way to successfully defending the men’s 5,000-metre title in the Canadian Track and Field Championships at the Terry Fox Athletic Facility in Ottawa on Thursday.
The winning time wasn’t anything special at 14:02.36, roughly a minute over Ahmed’s personal best, but it was more than sufficient to hold off Justyn Knight (14:03.16) of Vaughan, Ont.
The one-two results for Ahmed and Knight confirmed their spots on Canada’s team for the International Association of Athletics Federations world championships in London in early August. Both had surpassed the qualifying standard of 13:22.60 or better in races in the United States in May.
Ahmed said the plan had been to go hard from the front of the pack, but a gusting wind and warm, humid weather forced a rethink. So he settled into a tactical position inside the top five until the race official rang the bell to signify the final lap.
Nobody else could match the closing speed of Ahmed, who is coming off five weeks of high-altitude training in Utah. Before that, he finished sixth in 13:08 against a high-quality field at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Ore.
“Nothing is guaranteed and, if it can happen here…” Ahmed said. “So I just wanted to take care of what I could take care of, and that’s trying to win. It’s good to be a national champ.”
Ahmed finished fourth in the 5,000 metres at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which taught him that he belonged with the best in the world.
“Ever since I stepped off the track at Rio, I’ve been thinking about London. It’s very close now,” he said. “I definitely felt for a little while that I could (compete for a medal). It’s about putting myself in the mix. I think that’s what Rio showed me, that I could be there to the end.”
Knight, who attends Syracuse University, most recently raced to third place in the 5,000 metres at the NCAA championships. He was well aware of the need to finish second or better on Thursday to earn the trip to London, so he attached himself to Ahmed as best he could and stayed there as long as possible.
“It was fantastic out there,” said Knight, who made his first appearance in the senior men’s 5,000 metres at nationals.
The idea of going to the world championships “warms my heart,” Knight added.
“I was close to making the Olympic team last year. I know what it feels like to be right on the cusp of making it. For me to accomplish this, it’s great. I know it doesn’t end here in qualifying for worlds — I have to go out and do my best — but it means a lot to represent Canada again.”
Lucas Bruchet of Vancouver was third in 14:05.81.
Matt Hughes of Oshawa, Ont., not only claimed his fourth national title in the men’s 3,000-metre steeplechase, but also qualified for the world championships with his time of 8:30.91.
The issue wasn’t whether Hughes had the talent to meet the qualifying standard of 8:32:00, but rather the time to heal sufficiently after a bizarre incident in which he injured a knee by striking a fire hydrant while on a training run in Portland, Ore.
“Getting under that time is very relieving and now I can just not have to stress about meeting a standard and going and trying to chase a time before the window ends,” Hughes said.
Meanwhile, Andrea Seccafien of Guelph, Ont., won the women’s 5,000 and confirmed her own ticket for the world championships with a winning time of 15:39.66.