Justyn Knight is here to stay, runs fastest 5,000m in the world

Canadians produced some outstanding performances at the recent Payton Jordan Invitational in California.

At Stanford University, in Palo Alto, three of Canada’s Olympians, along with one of the country’s fastest rising stars in Justyn Knight, achieved the 2017 IAAF World Championships standard in their respective event.

Justyn Knight

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Toronto’s Justyn Knight, a student at Syracuse University, ran a world-leading 5,000m time for 2017 on Friday, 13:17.51. Not only was that a lifetime best for Knight, he beat collegiate rival Edward “King Ches” Cheserek who was expected to take the spotlight. Knight narrowly defeated Australia’s Sam McEntee for the race victory.

The previous Syracuse University record was 13:27.23. It was the fourth-fastest men’s 5,000m mark of all-time by a collegiate athlete during the academic year.

Andrea Seccafien

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A 2016 Olympian in the 5,000m, Andrea Seccafien secured a qualifying mark for the IAAF World Championships in London in the 12.5-lap race. Clocking 15:21.64, which ranks ninth in the world as of this writing, dipped under the necessary standard for Canada by 0.36 seconds.

Kate Van Buskirk and Jessica O’Connell narrowly missed the standard running 15:22.17 and 15:22.35, respectively. It should be noted that athletes, excluding marathoners, have until July 16, 2017 to run a qualifying time standard.

Geneviève Lalonde

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Canada’s record holder in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase ran her fastest-ever season debut. Geneviève Lalonde, an Olympic finalist, hurdled and ran her way to 9:36.88 and she says she wants to run faster than 9:20 this year to lower the Canadian benchmark, currently 9:30.24, even further.

Mohammed Ahmed

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The Canadian 5,000m record holder, both indoors and outdoors, set a new personal best in the 10,000m finishing second to Australia’s Patrick Tiernan. Ahmed, 26, ran 27:30.00.

Cheese, salt and honey! Left the track thinking I broke that 27:30 barrier? ??‍♂️awkward! Hey @tiernan_patrick How is the other side? https://t.co/lblf4C6dE5

— Mohammed Ahmed (@Moh_Speed) May 6, 2017

His time is ranked second in the world as the top-two marks are from Payton Jordan, one of the more popular races for collegiates and professionals on the spring track circuit.