MONTREAL — Mohammed Ahmed powered around the final 400 metres, Justyn Knight hot on his heels. It's become a familiar sight in Canadian men's distance running.
Ahmed won the men's 5,000 metres on "Distance Night" at the Canadian track and field championships, clocking 56 seconds over the final lap to win the tactical — thus slower — race in 13 minutes 54.92 seconds. Knight was second in 13:56.68.
"It's very good, (Knight) is pushing me, I'm pushing him, we're definitely pushing all of Canada which is good," Ahmed said.
The 28-year-old Ahmed, who was fourth at the 2016 Rio Olympics, recently became the first Canadian in history to dip under the 13-minute mark, slicing three seconds off his own Canadian record to run 12:58.16 at the Golden Gala a month ago in Rome.
That elusive number had nagged the Hamilton, Ont., native for the better part of two seasons. Finally beating it was a relief.
"With the pressure of breaking 13 minutes, I didn't celebrate, it was more of a release for me personally, I felt a sense of freedom, lighter, I didn't talk about it, I didn't do any interviews, I just told myself 'Enjoy it on your own,'" said Ahmed, who finished sixth in that fast race in Rome. "I think the Canadian distance fraternity celebrated it more, I hope, than I did."
Ahmed and Knight have given the country's racing fraternity plenty to celebrate recently. They were finalists at the 2017 world championships, marking the first time Canada had two runners in a world 5,000 final.
"I've looked up to him for quite a while, just knowing that I can kind of keep up with him," said Knight, a 23-year-old from Toronto. "I just need to learn how to finish a little bit stronger so I can finish alongside with him, but just knowing that I'm in good company here in Canada and we're doing something special is a good feeling."
They have lofty goals for the world championships in Doha, Qatar in October. Ahmed, who captured two silver medals at last year's Commonwealth Games, would love to climb a global podium.
Knight, who also ran a personal best at the Golden Gala in Rome finishing four places behind Ahmed, would love to be right there with him.
"I'm not a cocky guy, but me and Moh, we have this talk whenever we run together, me and him are just competitors, that's what made us NCAA champions, we always want to win, and whether or not we're ranked high enough or we're favourites, as elite athletes we always try to win," he said. "I feel like it would be disrespectful to Canada if I tried to do anything less."
Jessica O'Connell outkicked Andrea Seccafien to win the women's 5,000 in 15:46.54. Seccafien crossed in 15:47.93.
Genevieve Lalonde won the women's 3,000-metre steeplechase earlier in the night, while Matt Hughes won the men's event.
Lalonde led from the outset, had built a five-metre lead with three laps to go, and crossed the finish line a good 40 metres ahead of the field in 9:34.85.
After traversing the tricky world cross-country course earlier this year in Denmark, Thursday's race was "easy" for the 27-year-old from Moncton, N.B.
In March, Lalonde was 20th at the world cross-country championships, the best result by a Canadian in the senior women's race in 15 years.
"It was the toughest cross-country race ever to be held, they had huge hills, sand pits, water pits . . . but it was right in my wheelhouse and so getting ready for that was really fun, and once it got into the track season I was so ready to run fast. Jumping over hurdles (in the steeplechase) all of a sudden seemed really easy after running in the sand pits and water pits of Denmark," Lalonde said of the 10-kilometre race.
"And having that base for a 10K really helped and will help throughout the next couple of months and the next year."
Lalonde opened her outdoor season by breaking her own Canadian record in at the Shanghai Diamond League in May.
Hughes, a 29-year-old from Oshawa, Ont., sat in the middle of the pack before taking the lead with two laps to go, winning in 8:45.85.
"That was the plan, just something I'm going to try to work on over the next probably two months, kicking with the Kenyans is pretty hard, so tonight I just put it away with two laps to go," he said.
Hughes was 10th in Rio, Canada's best-ever finish in an event that's dominated by Kenyans.
"(The Kenyans) get to dictate the races, especially at the Olympics and world championships, you've kind of got to play the game because they're the best guys in the world," Hughes said.
Hughes said American Evan Jager, a former training partner, proved at the Rio Olympics that it was possible to push the pace and break up the juggernaut. Jager's tactics earned him silver behind Kenya's Conseslus Kipruto in Rio.
"It's more about going into those races and feeling confident in your gameplan, just not waiting for (the Kenyans) to react," Hughes said. "You get beat up by them a lot in races but at the end of the day they're a guy just like you. I think a lot of times guys go into these races and they feel defeated already."
The Canadian championships determine the team for the world championships in Doha.
Andre De Grasse and Aaron Brown highlight Friday night's schedule. They'll go head to head in the men's 100 metres.
Lori Ewing, The Canadian Press
