Canadian runner Mohammed Ahmed wins Olympic silver in 5000m with late rally
Canada’s Mohammed Ahmed is officially an Olympic medallist, picking up a Silver in Friday’s 5000m event at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Games.
On the final 100m, Ahmed moved up from fourth position all the way to second to capture his first Olympic medal and Canada’s 20th of the Games. He officially finished with a time of 12:58.61.
MOH AHMED – SILVER 🥈
He turns on the jets in the last lap and roars to a 2nd place finish in the 5,000m in a time of 12:58.61 pic.twitter.com/iwCRcsruXt
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) August 6, 2021
Standing on the podium alongside Ahmed was Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, who won gold, and American Paul Chelimo, who won bronze.
The 30-year-old Ahmed, originally born in Somalia, moved to St. Catharines, Ontario at age 11 and began his running career shortly afterwards.
Ahmed, who also goes by “Moh”, won gold at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto in the 10000m event, with his previous best finish in the 5000m on a major stage being bronze at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
Ahmed’s career best time in the 5000m is 12:47.20, set last year. It is also a North American continental record.
It was Canada’s first Olympic medal ever in a men’s long distance track event.