Canada’s Moh Ahmed blames himself for 5,000m fall
The Canadian, who narrowly missed a bronze medal in the 10,000m before falling in the 5,000m qualifying round, took full responsibility for the mishap
Nick Iwanyshyn
Moh Ahmed has displayed something we often don’t see after disappointing performances at the Olympics–humility. In an Instagram post on Friday, the veteran Canadian distance runner, who earned the silver medal in the 5,000m in Tokyo, apologized to Canadians for falling on the track during Wednesday’s heats of the men’s 5,000m event, which left him out of the final and a very long way down in the overall results.
“What happened on Wednesday’s Olympic 5000 heats was unfortunate, and through no fault of anyone,” Ahmed wrote. “It is certainly not the fault of the officials who were handed the difficult task of sorting through so many appeals, from 5000m heats alone. If anything, I reserve some blame for myself that I did not lean on my experience to get myself out of trouble well before the moment that led to the fall.
“As much as I would have liked seeing my name reinstated in that final, much to my dismay, I am forced to watch from the sidelines … I apologize for the anticlimactic end to these games.”
Ahmed was far from the only athlete to go down in the 5,000m race; five others also fell closer to the end of the race, appealed and were reinstated into the final. Canada’s Thomas Fafard, who also raced in that heat, told reporters after the race that it was “the craziest 5,000m he’s ever been part of”; Ahmed himself declined to speak to media. Athletics Canada also mounted an appeal for Ahmed to be reinstated, but the appeal was denied, Ahmed having been found to have caused his own crash.
Ahmed’s openness seems rare in athletics, which seems dominated by showmen who thump their chests and proclaim themselves the best in history, claiming illness or injury when they lose.
The 33-year-old, who trains with the Bowerman Track Club in Eugene, Ore., has had an unexpectedly tough Paris Olympics. In the men’s 10,000m final on the first night of track events last Saturday, he put on an incredible performance, missing out on a medal by two-tenths of a second. Ahmed was in fourth position at the bell and had moved into second with 200m to go; ultimately he was passed by silver and bronze medal-winners Berihu Aregawi and Grant Fisher in the final 50 metres. (Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei took the gold.)
Ahmed concluded with wise words, and expressed his intention to finish his season on a high note: “Such is life we fall, stumble and get knocked down. But damn we don’t gotta stay there for too long, do we? I will do my best to pick myself up and regather for the post-championship races.” He also thanked all his supporters, family, friends, teammates and coaches.
With five meets still to come this season on the Diamond League circuit, Ahmed plans to stay in Europe and continue to race. His 10,000m time from the Olympics met the standard for next year’s world championship to be held in Tokyo, but he does not yet have the standard for the 5,000m.
Ahmed is from St. Catharines, Ont.
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Athletics events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games are taking place from Aug. 1-11. Today’s coverage is brought to you by Canadian Running and New Balance Canada. Follow us on Twitter on Instagram for all things Team Canada and up-to-date exclusive news and content.
