5 Minutes with Mohammed Ahmed

The Wisconsin senior ran the 10,000m at the Olympics and ponders his role in the upcoming cross country season

In June of 2010, when he was only 19, a precocious Mohammed Ahmed made it known that he was aiming to represent Canada in the 2012 London Olympics. Though newly minted as the Canadian junior record holder at 10,000 meters, his then personal best of 28:57.44 would have to come down significantly to make London a possibility. But Ahmed believed he could do it, and so did his coach at Wisconsin, Mick Byrne. A 27:34.64 at last April’s Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational got Ahmed the necessary Olympic “A” standard and punched his ticket to London, where his 18th place performance was, as he terms it, “decent.” (His time was 28:13.91.) 


Now Ahmed is beginning his senior year at Wisconsin, and Badgers are preparing to defend their 2011 NCAA cross country championship. He finished 5th to lead the team to victory last November and is a favorite to win the individual title in Louisville, but there’s a possibility he’ll take a red shirt and run his final cross country season a year from now. Running Times visited with Ahmed to discuss his recent Olympic experience as well as his short-term and long-term goals.