Mohammed Ahmed of St. Catharines, Ontario won the bronze medal in Diamond League action on Thursday. Ahmed placed third in the men’s 5000 metres in Florence, Italy at the Golden Gala – Pietro Mennea.
Ahmed had a time of 12 minutes, 50.12 seconds for a seasonal best. Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway won the gold medal with a time of 12 minutes, 48.45 seconds. Hagos Gebrhiwet of Ethiopia won the silver medal with a time of 12 minutes, 49.02 seconds. Ahmed reached the podium by 0.67 seconds. Mohamed Katir of Spain finished in fourth place with a time of 12 minutes, 50.79 seconds.
Ahmed’s focus now will be the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021. There is no doubt that the men’s 5000 metres has become Ahmed’s specialty, as he also competes in the men’s 10000 metres. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Qatar, Ahmed won the bronze medal, behind Ethiopia’s Muktar Edris and Selemon Barega.
In other Canadian track and field news, Camryn Rogers of Richmond, British Columbia set the National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s hammer throw record of 75.52 metres on Thursday from Eugene, Oregon. Rogers won her second NCAA title, as she previously won in 2019. Rogers actually set the NCAA record twice in the competition as she also had a throw of 74.97 metres. Magdalyn Ewen of the United States had the old NCAA record of 73.32 metres. Like Ahmed, Rogers has become an instant medal contender for Canada at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021.
