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Ahmed’s smooth running and final kick lead to Tokyo 2020 silver
8-06-2021
Patience paid off for Mohammed Ahmed.
A great burst in the final lap of the men’s 5000m race won Ahmed a silver medal on Day 14 at Tokyo 2020 — Canada’s first Olympic medal in a men’s long distance track event.
“That race was fast so all I had to do was just stay smooth,” Ahmed said. “Not many people were going to drop me.”
Canadian distance runner Mohammed Ahmed wins the silver medal in the Men’s 5000m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Friday, August 06, 2021. Photo by Darren Calabrese/COC
Ahmed stayed near the middle of the pack for much of the race and made his move in the final lap. At the bell, Ahmed was in sixth position and gradually began to pick up speed. At the final bend, the Canadian sped past American Paul Chelimo and Kenyan Nicholas Kipkorir Kimeli to move into the second position, crossing the line with a time of 12:58.61.
Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda won gold in a time of 12:58.15. Chelimo won bronze.
Biography
Distance runner Mohammed Ahmed posted a best-ever Canadian result at Rio 2016 when he finished an impressive fourth in the 5000m. He had initially finished in fifth place, was then disqualified for stepping on the inner line of the track but was soon reinstated by the Jury of Appeal.
Ahmed made more history at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar when he won bronze in the 5000m, Canada’s first world championship medal in a long distance track event. It was also at those worlds that he lowered the national record in the 10,000m to 26:59.35 as he finished sixth in the event. In one of his rare race opportunities in 2020, Ahmed also broke his own national record in the 5000m, running 12:47.20 in July.
Ahmed made his Olympic debut at London 2012 where he finished 18th in the 10,000m. He had a breakthrough performance the following year when he finished ninth in the longest track event at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow. At the time, it was best-ever finish by a Canadian in the 10,000m at the world championships, a result that Ahmed himself has since bettered.
Ahmed won 10,000m gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. In September 2015 he broke the 17-year-old Canadian record in the 5000m, running 13:10.00 at a Diamond League meet in Brussels. Ahmed smashed his own mark by more than eight seconds in May 2016, running 13:01.74 at the Prefontaine classic in Eugene, Oregon. It was his second national record of 2016, having broken the nine-year-old indoor mark in the 3000m in February.
In 2018, Ahmed won a pair of silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in the 5000m and 10,000m.
As a junior, Ahmed won the 5000m at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships and finished fourth in the 10,000m at the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton. He also owns the Canadian junior 10,000m record. He ran a personal best 27:34.64 in the 10,000m in April 2012. During his time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ahmed was a seven-time All-American and was the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after finishing third in the 10,000m at the NCAA Championships.
A Little More About Mohammed
Getting into the Sport: Started running track at age 13 after seeing his brothers running track at school… Has wanted to compete for Team Canada since watching Athens 2004… Outside Interests: Graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014 where he studied political science… Enjoys reading, writing, listening to music and podcasts… Odds and Ends: Born in Somalia, he spent the first 10 years of his life in Kenya before moving to Canada with his family in 2001… Favourite quote: “Tagto daayo tamido ogoow” which means “Abandon that which has departed (yesterday/past) and rather ponder on that which is yet to come (tomorrow/future)” from his maternal grandmother Bulo Bulaye… Role models include three-time Olympic gold medallist Kenenisa Bekele, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Sullivan, Mohammed Farah, Hayley Wickenheiser and Clara Hughes… Nickname: Mospeed…
“I did not think this race was going to be fast,” Ahmed said. “I thought they were just going to let it go but Joshua (Cheptegei) came to play tonight. The real Joshua. That’s how he runs the best, up front where he dictates the pace.”
Despite the quick pace, Ahmed said he continued to tell himself to stay relaxed and keep running smooth.
“A lot of these guys are going to fade and I just got to kick. So that’s what I did.”
Making Canadian history is nothing new for Ahmed. In 2019 he won Canada’s first world championship medal in a long distance track event, winning bronze in the 5000m. He also owns the Canadian record in the event with a time of 12:47.20 set in July 2020.
Ahmed was racing in his third Olympic Games. He finished fourth in the 5000m at Rio 2016, which had been Canada’s best ever result until Tokyo 2020.
“I’m elated,” Ahmed said about his silver. “I was off the podium five years ago and it hasn’t been an easy five years for me. It’s been a lot of mental checks, a lot of doubts and uncertainty. All those things. I put a lot of work into this.
“That last 150m, that’s what I thought about. The amount of work that I put in.”
Canadian distance runner Mohammed Ahmed celebrates after winning the silver medal in the Men’s 5000m final during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Friday, August 06, 2021. Photo by Darren Calabrese/COC
Ahmed also ran in the men’s 10,000m event earlier in the Games, finishing sixth with a seasonal best time of 27:47.76. The Canadian thanked his coaching and medical staff for helping him recover quickly from that race, allowing him to refocus on the 5000m.
“I think if I had fought a little bit harder and found some sort of strength I could have gotten a medal there too,” Ahmed said. “It’s just the way that it goes. I did what I had to do to try and pick myself up.”
Canadian Justyn Knight, running in his first Olympic Games, finished seventh in the 5000m with a time of 13:04.38. The 25-year-old finished 10th in the event at 2019 World Athletics Championships.
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