Personal best for Canuck Ahmed, who places sixth in 10K at worlds
DOHA, QATAR — Mohammed Ahmed broke his own Canadian record in the men’s 10,000 metres Sunday as he finished sixth at the world track and field championships.
Ahmed, from St. Catharines, finished in 26 minutes and 59.35 seconds, trimming three seconds from his old mark.
Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei won gold in 26:48.36. Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha took silver in 26:49.34 and Kenya’s Rhonex Kipruto won bronze in 26:50.32.
Ahmed won a bronze medal in the 5,000 metres earlier in the week.
Also Sunday, Canada finished fifth in the women’s 4x400-metre relay in 3:25.91.
The United States won gold in 3:18.92. Poland took the silver in 3:21.89 and the bronze went to Jamaica in 3:22.37.
Canada’s Gabriela DeBuesStafford broke her own national record in the women’s 1,500metre final Saturday at the world track and field championships.
The Toronto runner finished sixth in three minutes and 56.12 seconds, trimming over three seconds from her previous best of 3:59.59 set last August in Zurich.
“I’m really happy, gave it everything I had on the last lap,” DeBues-Stafford said.
“I knew it was going to be fast, I could feel it.
“On the one hand, it is tough because any other year, a runner with a time like that would be a shoe-in for the win, but it’s also exciting to be a part of a phenomenal class of women in the 1500-metres and I actually prefer it that way. We elevate each other’s games to run faster.”
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands won gold in 3:51.95. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya took silver and Gudaf Tsegay of Ethiopia won bronze.
DeBues-Stafford first broke the Canadian record in July. Her time of 4:00.26 in London was one-100th of a second faster than Lynn Williams’ mark from 1985.
Also Saturday, the Canadian women’s 4x400-metre relay team qualified for Sunday’s final by finishing third in the opening heat in 3:25.86.