Mohammed Ahmed

Biography

Mohammed Ahmed made history at Tokyo 2020 where he won silver in the 5000m for Canada’s first Olympic medal in a long distance track event. That came just a few days after he finished sixth in the 10,000m, Canada’s best Olympic result in that event since 1912. 

Ahmed had previously posted a best-ever Canadian result at Rio 2016 when he finished an impressive fourth in the 5000m. He had initially finished in fifth place, was then disqualified for stepping on the inner line of the track but was soon reinstated by the Jury of Appeal.

Ahmed made more history at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar when he won bronze in the 5000m, Canada’s first world championship medal in a long distance track event. It was also at those worlds that he lowered the national record in the 10,000m to 26:59.35 as he finished sixth in the event. In one of his rare race opportunities in 2020, Ahmed also broke his own national record in the 5000m, running 12:47.20 in July.

Ahmed made his Olympic debut at London 2012 where he finished 18^th in the 10,000m. He had a breakthrough performance the following year when he finished ninth in the longest track event at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow. At the time, it was best-ever finish by a Canadian in the 10,000m at the world championships, a result that Ahmed himself has since bettered.

Ahmed won 10,000m gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. In September 2015 he broke the 17-year-old Canadian record in the 5000m, running 13:10.00 at a Diamond League meet in Brussels. Ahmed smashed his own mark by more than eight seconds in May 2016, running 13:01.74 at the Prefontaine classic in Eugene, Oregon. It was his second national record of 2016, having broken the nine-year-old indoor mark in the 3000m in February.

In 2018, Ahmed won a pair of silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in the 5000m and 10,000m.

As a junior, Ahmed won the 5000m at the 2009 Pan American Junior Championships and finished fourth in the 10,000m at the 2010 IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton. He also owns the Canadian junior 10,000m record. He ran a personal best 27:34.64 in the 10,000m in April 2012. During his time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Ahmed was a seven-time All-American and was the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year after finishing third in the 10,000m at the NCAA Championships.

A Little More About Mohammed

Getting into the Sport: Started running track at age 13 after seeing his brothers running track at school… Has wanted to compete for Team Canada since watching Athens 2004… Outside Interests: Graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2014 where he studied political science… Enjoys reading, writing, listening to music and podcasts… Odds and Ends: Born in Somalia, he spent the first 10 years of his life in Kenya before moving to Canada with his family in 2001… Favourite quote: “Tagto daayo tamido ogoow” which means “Abandon that which has departed (yesterday/past) and rather ponder on that which is yet to come (tomorrow/future)” from his maternal grandmother Bulo Bulaye… Role models include three-time Olympic gold medallist Kenenisa Bekele, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Sullivan, Mohammed Farah, Hayley Wickenheiser and Clara Hughes… Nickname: Mospeed…