Mohammed Ahmed breaks Canadian 3,000m record
The 26-year-old Canadian adds the national 3,000m outdoor record to his collection, lowering Kevin Sullivan's mark by a second in Croatia
Mohammed Ahmed erased a nine-year-old Canadian record on Tuesday in the Croatian capital.
Competing at the IAAF World Challenge Zagreb, the 26-year-old ran 7:40.49 to finish third in the men’s 3,000m. The outdoor personal best performance eclipses Kevin Sullivan’s previous Canadian record of 7:41.61, which the current coach at the University of Michigan set in 2008.
Ahmed finished less than two seconds back of race winner Selemon Barega, who clocked 7:38.90. The time is not Ahmed’s all-time PB as he ran 7:40.11, the current Canadian indoor record, in 2016 at the Millrose Games. (Outdoor and indoor records are distinct from each other as track distances differ.)
7:40.49 for @Moh_Speed to break the NR held by @ksully330 for 9yrs. Mo now holds Canadian Records at 3000 (in/out), 5000 (in/out) and 10,000 pic.twitter.com/EfOeA8t6Jr
— Dan Lilot (@Lilot1TrackMind) August 29, 2017
It was Ahmed’s second PB in as many weeks as he ran 3:56.60 for the mile at the Birmingham Diamond League on Aug. 20. Between his mile and 3,000m, he also raced at the Zurich Diamond League in Switzerland, running 13:10.26.
With Tuesday’s performance, Ahmed is now the fastest Canadian, outdoors, in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m. The two-time Olympian set the Canadian 10,000m record in London at the 2017 IAAF World Championships clocking 27:02.35.