Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed takes silver in the 5,000m at Commonwealth Games
St. Catharines, Ont. runner's star continues to rise with outstanding performance at Commonwealth Games
April 9th, 2018 by Anne Francis | Posted in Runs & Races | Tags: 10000m, commonwealth games, mohammed ahmed, Running News
Photo/graphic: Athletics Canada
Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed achieved a strong and well deserved silver medal in the men’s 5,000m at the Gold Coast’s Carrara Stadium on Sunday with a time of 13:52.78. Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei took the gold medal with a time of 13:50.83. Kenyan Edward Zakayo won bronze, in 13:54.06.
Ahmed went out in front early in the race, but was passed by Cheptegei with four laps to go.
“I’ve been at the cusp for many years,” the 27-year-old Ahmed said to Canadian Press of his achievement, “but I finally get to stand on the podium and hopefully, one day, I get to climb one more step.”
Photo: Facebook/Commonwealth Games
Ahmed has quietly risen into the top tier of middle-distance runners, placing sixth in the 5,000 and eighth in the 10,000 at last year’s world championships in London (both Canadian-best finishes), and breaking both the Canadian two-mile record (8:13.16) and the indoor 5,000m record (13:04.6) in 2017. Cheptegei took silver in the 10,000m in London.
Ahmed was sixth in the 10,000m at the 2014 games in Glasgow, and fifth in the 5,000m. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, he was fourth and 32nd, respectively.
Born in Mogadishu, Somalia, Ahmed spent the first 10 years of his life in Kenya before moving to St. Catharines, Ont. with his family.
