The impending 5,000m showdown at the Canadian Track and Field Championships

July 3rd-8th are the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Ottawa. The best in the country will line up to compete for a spot on team Canada for NACAC Track and Field in the 6ix. 

Championship-style racing is much more than just the numbers and when a team qualification is on the line, many runners will focus on strategy as opposed to pure speed. Sometimes the strategy plays out, and sometimes it doesn’t – which is what makes championship races so thrilling. 

The men’s and women’s 5,000m races are some of the most exciting running of the weekend. Below are the top seeds in both competitions, and commentary on how the races could play out. 

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The men’s 5,000m has four of the biggest names in Canadian track and field. The top seeds are Mohammed Ahmed, Justyn Knight, Ben Flanagan and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot.

Mohammed Ahmed is the favourite to win. The Canadian record-holder over both 5,000m and 10,000m has had a strong season, finishing fourth at the Prefontaine Classic, and fourth at the Stockholm Diamond League. Ahmed is currently stationed in Mammoth Lakes, California, where he trains with the Bowerman Track Club.

RELATED: Mohammed Ahmed on his result at Pre and plans for the summer

Close behind Ahmed is Syracuse grad Justyn Knight. Knight is fresh off of an NCAA second-place over 5,000m. Knight doesn’t have the same breadth of race experience or a personal best as strong as Ahmed’s, but he’s a great racer, and at a championship anything can happen. 

Charles Philibert-Thiboutot, 2016 Olympian over 1,500m, will compete over distance at nationals this year. Philibert-Thiboutot ran a 5,000m early in the season at Payton Jordan, then shifted his focus to the 1,500m. If the race comes down to a kick, Philibert-Thiboutot’s speed could be a threat. 

Ben Flanagan, NCAA champion over 10,000m, rounds out the field. Flanagan had a huge race at the NCAA championships to kick down New Mexico’s Vincent Kiprop. Flanagan has proven that he’s a strong championship racer, and could potentially pull off another underdog win. 

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In the women’s competition, the top three seeds are Andrea Seccafien, Jessica O’Connell and Sasha Gollish. Unfortunately, Kate Van Buskirk is not entered in the meet. 

Seccafien has the fastest seed time and season’s best of the field. Seccafien relocated to Australia last September, and now trains with the Melbourne Track Club. She is a 2016 Olympian over 5,000m and has lots of elite race experience. She will be hard to beat. 

O’Connell has run the second-fastest women’s 5,000m for the 2018 season. She ran a very impressive 1,500m on Wednesday at the Harry Jerome Track Classic in Burnaby, B.C., to take the win in a time of 4:10.66. O’Connell’s speed is clearly improving, and speed is a crucial element of championship racing. 

RELATED: 2018 Waterfront 10K winner to run debut marathon

Gollish has the third-fastest incoming seed time. Gollish hasn’t run a stellar 5,000m yet this outdoor season, but she has run very well over 1,500m on the track and 10K on the roads. Gollish is a tenacious racer and could pull off an upset in the right race. 

Tickets, entries and schedule are available through athletics.ca.