St. Catharines runner Mohammed Ahmed wins Olympic silver medal

Mohammed Ahmed has won silver in the men’s 5000-metre race, marking Canada’s first Olympic medal in the long-distance track event.

Ahmed was born in Somalia but grew up in St. Catharines, Ont.

Ahmed’s time was 12:58.61, putting him 0.46 behind gold medallist Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda.

The 30-year-old had recorded Canada’s best-ever Olympic result in the 5000m at Rio 2016 where he finished fourth.

He came to Tokyo with the third-fastest time in the world this year in the distance.

Post medal feels 🥺@Moh_Speed wins his first Olympic medal 🥈 pic.twitter.com/QCCE1iGM0P

— Team Canada (@TeamCanada) August 6, 2021