Ahmed on track for more records
St. Catharines’ athlete of the year for 2016 continues building a strong case to end 2017 as Canada’s long-distance runner of the year.
The St. Catharines Collegiate graduate’s sixth-place finish in the men’s 5,000 metres at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships earlier this month in London was the highest ever for a Canadian.
The 26-year-old native of Mogadishu, Somalia, who still regards St. Catharines home though he hasn’t lived her since 2010, needed 13:35.43 to cross the finish line, 2.64 seconds behind Muktar Edris of Ethiopia who finished first with a winning time of 13:32.79.
Ahmed’s personal best of 13:01.74 racing outdoors was set in May of 2016 in Eugene, Ore., dubbed the “Running Capita of the World” and the site of six team trials for the U.S. Olympic track and field program/
Oregon is also where Ahmed trains as a professional running for Nike. He joined the team after graduating from the University of Wisconsin.
In London, Ahmed also raced in the men’s 10,000-metre final, once again setting a new standard for Canadian long-distance runners to target at meets in the future.
His time of 27:02.35, low enough for eighth in the field of 22, set a personal best.
Ahmed, whose fourth-place finish in the 5,000 metres at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was the best-ever for a Canada, is becoming tired of his accomplishments on the track described as the “best Canadian finish” or the “best Canadian this.”
“I want to be the best in the world,” he said in a story posted by The Canadian Press. “That’s essentially what I am working toward. I dislike hearing those words, ‘best Canadian finish.’
“You want to be the best in the world.”
Ahmed said his strong showing in the 10,000 metres spoke volumes about his competitors in the race.
“If you were to tell me I’d finish eighth in 27:02, I would’ve said, ‘You’re crazy, man,’” he said. “Those guys are incredible.”
Hometown favourite Mohamed Farah of Great Britain set the pace in the 10,000 metres with a time of 26:49.51.