Moh Ahmed runs under Olympic 10,000m standard after qualifying in 5,000 last July – MASHAHER

For a third consecutive Olympics, Moh Ahmed will have the opportunity to race the men’s 5,000- and 10,000-metre events this August in Paris.

The Canadian secured his spot in the latter event by finishing under the 27-minute automatic entry standard at Sound Running’s The TEN outdoor race on Saturday night in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.

The 33-year-old Ahmed finished fourth in the 25-lap race at J Serra High School in 26:53.01, a little under 19 seconds slower than his 26:34.14 performance at the 2022 event in the South Orange Country town.

Ahmed stopped the clock in 27:56.43 in his lone track 10,000 effort of 2023 at the World Athletics Championships last Aug. 20 in Budapest, Hungary. He was sixth in the 2021 Olympic final, clocking 27:47.76 in Tokyo.

“This is the race I’ve been building for this winter and [last] fall.” Ahmed, a native of St. Catharines, Ont., told CBC Sports in February.

Ahmed met the 13:05.00 standard in the 5,000 for Paris last July 21, going 13:01.58 at a Diamond League professional meet in Monaco.

Five weeks later in Budapest, he was seventh in the world 5,000 final and sixth in the 10,000. Although he matched his placing in the 10,000 from the previous summer at worlds in Eugene, Ore., Ahmed left Hungary “bitterly disappointed” after a strong year of running.

“Maybe because of the lack of racing my racing instincts weren’t there, I was kind of second-guessing myself,” an out-of-breath Ahmed told Andi Petrillo of CBC Sports in Budapest. “That’s what made the difference, but I put in great, great training and it’s unfortunate I couldn’t reward that training with a medal.”

2 missed workouts due to injury

Training for Saturday’s race was interrupted early in 2024 when Ahmed tweaked a hamstring/hip flexor in his final workout ahead of what would have been his half marathon debut on Jan. 14 in Houston.

The biggest [motivation] is to get what I don’t have, which is [world] gold or two medals [one each in the 5,000 and 10,000].— Moh Ahmed

Ahmed only missed about two workouts and returned to full training at Bowerman Track Club in Eugene.

On Feb. 16, he finished fifth (13:06.32) in his first indoor 5,000 of the year at the DMR Challenge at Boston University.

In Tokyo, Ahmed won silver to become Canada’s first Olympic medallist in the 5,000 and standing atop the medal podium at worlds or in Paris remains his motivation.

“I’ve been inching closer these last eight years. I’ve tasted the podium,” he told CBC Sports. “The biggest driver is to get what I don’t have, which is [world] gold or two medals [one each in the 5,000 and 10,000]. That’s very hard to do.”

Fellow Canadian Ben Flanagan, who will join Ahmed in the 5,000 in Paris, fell nearly 21 seconds short of the Olympic standard in Saturday’s race, placing 15th of 32 finishers in a 27:20.93 personal best.

The 29-year-old from Kitchener, Ont., qualified for his first Olympics on Jan. 26, running 13:04.62 at the John Thomas Terrier Classic in Boston.

Flanagan, who has extended his contract with Swiss shoe company On through 2028, went 13:38.69 at 2023 worlds but didn’t advance from the heats. On Oct. 1, he placed 12th in the men’s 5K race at the first World Athletics Road Running Championships in Riga, Latvia.

In a separate 10,000 race in San Juan Capistrano, Jeremy Coughler of Port Hope, Ont., was third in a 28:28.30 PB, followed by Thomas Fafard of Repentigny, Que. (5th, 28:39.29 PB) and Max Turek of Whitby, Ont., (8th, 29:12.18 PB). Toronto’s Andrew Alexander ran a different 10,000 and was 13th of 26 finishers in 28:22.29.

Yee, Heppenstall win 1,500m races in Montreal

In other Canadian track results Sunday, Regan Yee and Robert Heppenstall won their respective 1,500 races but failed to hit the Olympic standard at the Canadian indoor championships in Montreal.

Yee crossed the line in four minutes 35.54 seconds to beat Morgane Drouin at Montreal’s Complexe Sportif Claude-Robillard.

The Vancouver athlete will gain valuable world ranking points as she isn’t far from moving inside the quota of 45 for Olympic selection.

Yee, 28, has run well indoors this year, with three wins in four races while setting PBs in the mile, 3,000 & 5,000.

She is also currently inside the world rankings quota in the 3,000 steeplechase (top 36) to be named to the Olympic team.

On Sunday, Yee also prevailed in the women’s open 3,000 in 9:39.98.

Heppenstall, 27, reached the finish in 4:00.81, defeating Francois Jarry (4:03.32).

Heppenstall captured a Pan Am Games silver medal last October in Santiago, Chile, finishing just six seconds off the 3:33.50 Olympic standard. But he has work to do to get inside the top 45 entries on world ranking points.

Elsewhere, Tristan Woodfine of Cobden, Ont., (near Ottawa) was sixth among 13,596 men in the New York City Half Marathon. His time of one hour three minutes 50 seconds was 70 seconds shy of his 1:02:40 PB from the B.A.A. Half Marathon in Boston on Nov. 12.

Cam Levins and Rory Linkletter have run the 2:08:10 qualifying standard in the marathon, leaving Ben Preisner and Woodfine battling for the third and final Olympic spot among Canadian men. The qualifying window closes April 30.