It’s all about race preparation this week for Moh Ahmed, who has put off sightseeing in Rome in favour of reading and napping.
Canada’s best 5,000-metre track runner — he holds 10 of the 11 fastest times by a man or woman — is determined to finish the season strong after leaving the recent Paris Olympics without a medal.
Ahmed will race at Stadio Olimpico for the third time on Friday at 4:04 p.m. ET as part of the Golden Gala Pietro Mennea, five days after setting a Canadian record in the 3,000m event at another Diamond League meet in Chorzow, Poland.
“Paris showed that I was in good shape and more than anything I’m trying to capitalize on it, trying to compete to the best of my abilities and prep for next year,” the 33-year-old native of St. Catharines, Ont., told CBC Sports from his Rome hotel on Wednesday.
“You can’t help but look back on [the Olympics] and have visions of what could have been, but right now I have to focus on the moment and try to end the season on a good note.”
The end to his fourth Olympics ended in dramatic fashion when an appeal filed by Ahmed to be reinstated for the 5,000m final was rejected shortly after he was tripped late in his Aug. 7 heat.
WATCH l Ahmed tripped, knocked out of Olympic 5,000m heat:
Moh Ahmed falls to the ground during the opening heat of the men’s 5,000-metre event at Paris 2024. Fellow Canadian Thomas Farfad secures a spot in the final.
Ahmed, who was boxed in for much of the race, had moved off the rail but got tangled with a group of runners and fell about 50 metres from the start of the final lap. Five days earlier, he placed fourth in the 10,000m after sitting first or second with a few laps remaining.
“I don’t know how many more years I have left of this, but it’s what could have been,” said Ahmed, who captured a silver medal in the 2021 Olympic 5,000m. “The fact I had an opportunity to show what I was capable of is the disappointing aspect.
“The fall [is] part of the game. There’s a lot of bumping [in track races]. You have to be versatile, balanced, skilled and try to avoid those things. I can only be made at myself for putting myself in that situation.”
Live streaming coverage of Friday’s track and field meet begins at 3 p.m. ET and is available at CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.
Ahmed has a history of success in Italy. Stadio Olimpico was the site of his first 5,000 race under 13 minutes when he…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBC | Top Stories News…