Moh Ahmed looks to get past disappointing Olympics in last push to Diamond League Final

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:

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,” Ahmed said. “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 clocked 12:58.16 on June 6, 2019. Ahmed has clocked sub-13 minutes in his other three races in the country, including a 12:50.12 best in 2021 at Stadio Luigi in Florence.

Ahmed, whose personal best is 12:47.20, attributed his success on Italian soil to being motivated to run well against strong competition.

“And the Italian fans are [among] the best in the world,” he said. “They’re loud, passionate. It’s a big [72,000-seat] stadium but they fill it. It tells you they care about the sport.”

Kenya’s Ronald Kwemoi, who ran to a silver medal in Paris, is part of Friday’s 18-man field that includes six athletes from the Olympic 5,000 final.

“It’ll be competitive and fast,” Ahmed said. “The weather should be decent, a little hot [at a forecasted 28 C with a light wind]. If I compete as hard as I can I’ll be happy, regardless of where I finish.

“I’m sure after the meet I’ll stick around for a day or two and check out some of the main attractions in Rome.”

Late push for Diamond League Final

A strong showing by Ahmed — his top placing in Italy is third from 2021 — would go a long way to clinching a berth for the 10-athlete competition at the Sept. 13 Diamond League Final in Brussels. He earned his first three points of the season in Chorzow and is five back of Norway’s Narve Gilje Nordås for the last qualifying spot.

Kwemoi was fifth in Chorzow, one spot and 39-100ths of a second in front of Ahmed, who clocked 7:31.96.

The Canadian’s previous best of 7:40.49 was achieved nearly seven years to the day on Aug. 29, 2017 at the IAAF World Challenge in Zagreb, Croatia.

Ahmed was aware of the national record immediately following the race last Sunday but disappointed he didn’t place second or top three behind Norwegian winner and Paris Olympic champion Jacob Ingebrigtsen, who reached the finish line in a world record 7:17.55.

“The pace felt a little too fast for me and I wasn’t comfortable [late in the race]. For whatever reason, I couldn’t hold that pace,” said Ahmed.

WATCH | Ahmed 6th over 3,000m in Canadian record time in Poland:

Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaks 3,000m world record at Diamond League Silesia

Jakob Ingebrigtsen ran a time of 7:17.55 in the men’s 3000 metres to smash the world record in Poland.

Newman has more to give in pole vault

Alysha Newman is the only other athlete from Canada competing in Rome, returning to the pole vault runway for the first time since becoming the country’s first-ever Olympic medallist, grabbing bronze in the women’s event.

The London, Ont., native enters Friday’s competition at 2:37 p.m. fifth among six women who will qualify for the Diamond League Final. Newman has a two-point lead over Emily Grove of the United States in seventh and Katerina Stefanidi of Greece in eighth, both of whom could try to improve their standing at the Weltklasse Zurich meet on Sept. 4.

In her first Olympic final, Newman raised her Canadian outdoor record to 4.85m.

WATCH l Newman clears 4.85m for Olympic bronze:

Canada’s Alysha Newman captures pole vault bronze medal

Alysha Newman of Delaware, Ont., clears 4.85 good enough for the Olympic women’s pole vault bronze medal at Paris 2024.

“Putting yourself out there is scary,” she wrote this week in an Instagram story. “But you know what is more daunting? Never trying to figure out what your full potential is.

“Deep down, I haven’t reached my full potential.”

In Rome, Newman will face reigning Olympic and world champion Nina Kennedy of Australia, who cleared a season-best 4.90 in Paris.

Kipyegon back at site of world mark

Three-time Olympic champion Faith Kipyegon will continue her 1,500m Diamond Trophy defence at 4:37 p.m., returning to the meet at which she first broke the women’s world record last year.

The 30-year-old Kenyan lowered her mark by 7-100ths to 3:49.04 in her lone Diamond League appearance this season on July 7 at the Meeting de Paris.

Like Ahmed, Kipyegon needs another big performance to solidify her spot at the Final. She is three points behind the final qualifier, Worknesh Mesele of Ethiopia, who is part of Friday’s field of 15.

Kerley aims for Golden Gala 3-peat

The men’s 100 at 4:52 p.m. features three Paris Olympic finalists, five sprinters with a 9.86-second season best or faster and all nine participants with PBs under 10 seconds.

Leading the way is American Fred Kerley, coming off his 9.81 SB in the Aug. 4 final in Paris. On Sunday, he won in 9.87 in Chorzow.

WATCH | Kerley grabs bronze medal in thrilling Olympic 100m final:

American Noah Lyles wins Olympic 100m race in a photo finish

World champion Noah Lyles edged out Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson by .005 seconds, to win the men’s 100-metre final at Paris 2024. Lyles won with a personal best time of 9.784 seconds.

Kerley has prevailed in the two most 100 showdowns at the Golden Gala, going 9.92 two years ago in Rome and 9.94 last June 2 in Florence.

Italy’s Marcell Jacobs, who was fifth in 9.85 in the Olympic final, will race at home while Letsile Tebogo of Botswana ran a national record of 9.86 for sixth in the Olympic 100 final.