The man they call Moh Speed was back on Canadian soil this past weekend.
In fact, he was running in his first cross country race in 13 years.
And despite less than stellar weather conditions Mohammed Ahmed cruised to victory at the Canadian Cross Country Championships held in London, Ontario.
Ahmed, who calls St. Catharines home and is the most decorated distance runner in Canadian history, had the confidence going into the race.
“The goal was the win,” explained Ahmed, who joined The Niagara Independent for an exclusive interview this week.
“Obviously I expected that of myself, but that’s never a guarantee. You can take nothing for granted, your health, your body and you hope for the win, and it was good to get it.”
Ahmed, who has trained primarily out of Oregon or Arizona for years, says he turned back the clock reminiscing about his days in St. Catharines.
The now 34-year old will decide this week if he’ll represent Canada at the World Cross Country Championships in Florida come January, but did hint he’s leaning that way.
Ahmed recently parted ways with longtime coach Jerry Schumacher and is currently training himself.
“Just sort of needed a change in scenery, wasn’t really a change of stimulus in coaching x’s and o’s,” Ahmed said.
“Me and Jerry, there’s a lot of love there. He took me to four Olympics and five or six World Championships, and I was always in the hunt. I got two medals with him. There’s so much love and so much gratitude for what we did together, but it was just kind of a feeling that I needed a change.”
Ahmed’s career highlights thus far include a silver medal in the 5000m event at the 2000 Tokyo Olympics, and a bronze at the 2019 World Championships in the 5000m in Doha, Qatar.
And coaching is what brought Ahmed back to St. Catharines to work with members of the Niagara Olympic Club (NOC).
“I do definitely have the temperament for it, and I do like to teach, but I don’t know
It’s good to share your experience and share your knowledge.
He’s been coaching runners online, but was able to do so in person Monday night at Canada Games Park Ahmed’s first time back at the track since he received the Key to the City of St. Catharines from former Mayor Walter Sendzik.
Ahmed’s long term goal is still to compete in the Olympic games come 2028 in Los Angeles, California
“I’m Canadian, and LA is not a Canadian city but it is as close as possible to Canada, so I’m just going to consider it as a home Olympics.
Definitely the motivation is there, the desire is there, just have to keep the body healthy and keep taking it one day at a time.”
A message anyone, from any walk of life, can appreciate and relate to.
Rod Mawhood is a lifelong Niagara native who has had the pleasure of working in all three mediums – Radio, Print and TV – for over 20 years. His first announcing gig was with the then St. Catharines Stompers. Since then he’s worked in radio and TV in Toronto, and currently is the announcer for the Niagara IceDogs and Niagara River Lions.
Rod also covers the Buffalo Bills for FOX Sports and the Buffalo Sabres for NBC Sports.
